BANNOCKBURN, IL – December North American printed circuit board sales were down 1.9% year-over-year, says IPC. The 90-day moving average orders suggest more lean times are ahead for domestic fabricators, the trade group added.

The book-to-bill ratio improved slightly, but remains below parity at 0.92. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to six months.

Orders fell 8% year-over-year in December. PCB shipments for the month increased 2.2% compared to the same month in 2012. December sales were up 6.6% sequentially.

For the year, shipments were down 1.9% year-over-year, but steadily improved during the latter months, says the trade association. Orders were down 1.1% from 2012 but jumped 17.7% sequentially.

 “North American PCB sales in December continued their slow recovery, while orders have been volatile,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “In the current cycle, the book-to-bill ratio appears to have hit its low point in November and is now beginning to climb again,” she added.