BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American printed circuit board shipments in April increased 3% year-over-year, says IPC. Orders fell 5.6% compared to April 2010.

Year to date through April, PCB shipments were up 5.9%, and orders were down 6.7%. Sequentially, shipments decreased 13.9%, and orders dropped 11.5%.

The book-to-bill ratio for the month inched up to 0.96, meaning for every $96 worth of boards ordered, $100 worth was shipped. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, and is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

Rigid board shipments were up 0.8%, while orders decreased 6.6% compared to the same month last year. Year to date, rigid board shipments were up 5.2%, and orders declined 8.1%. Sequentially, shipments decreased 15%, and orders dropped 12.3%. The rigid book-to-bill ratio improved slightly to 0.96.

Flex circuit shipments in April were up 30.3%, and orders increased 7.2% year-over-year. Year to date, flex shipments increased 14.3%, and orders were up 9%. Sequentially, shipments decreased 2.4%, and orders declined 0.8%. The flex book-to-bill fell to 0.96.

“Growth in North American PCB sales continues to follow normal seasonal patterns and seems to have returned to normal, and the book-to-bill ratio is holding steady at just under parity,” IPC said. “This suggests the slowdown in sales growth is likely to continue into the third quarter of this year.”

Rigid PWBs represent an estimated 89% of the current North American industry. In April, 81% of total shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 79% of rigid and 87% of flex circuit shipments.

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