BANNOCKBURN, IL – Total North American printed circuit board shipments were down 10.2% in February from a year ago, says IPC.

Orders decreased 9.2% year-over-year.

Sequentially, PCB shipments decreased 6.5%, but orders increased 1.1%. Through February, PCB shipments were down 5.7%, and orders were down 6.7%.

The book-to-bill ratio strengthened in February, reaching 1.06. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to six months.

“Sales are still sluggish in the North American PCB industry, but the book-to-bill ratio strengthened in February for the third straight month,” said Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research. “When orders exceed sales over several months, this is an encouraging sign for future sales growth.”

In February, 85% of total PCB shipments were domestically produced; the rest were built offshore and brokered by North American fabricators.