BANNOCKBURN, IL – Total North American printed circuit board shipments increased 4% in November compared to the same month in 2012, says IPC.

Year-to-date shipments decreased 2.3% year-over-year.

November North American PCB orders fell 6.7% year-over-year, while year-to-date orders were down 0.4 %.

The book-to-bill ratio declined further to 0.91.

A ratio of more than one suggests current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to six months.

Compared to October 2013, PCB shipments in November were down 6.3%, and orders were down 15.5%.

 “While sales continued to strengthen in the North American PCB industry compared to last year, orders declined,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “This disparity between sales and order growth pushed the book-to-bill ratio to its lowest point since March 2009,” she added, “indicating a slow and possibly bumpy recovery going into 2014.”

• Prev
• Next