BANNOCKBURN, IL — North American printed circuit board shipments in July were down 2.3% year-over-year. Year-to-date shipments are down 0.6% compared to the same period last year, says IPC. Sequentially, PCB shipments were down 13%.

PCB orders decreased 6.3% compared to July 2013. Year-to-date orders were down 6.1% compared to the same period in 2013. Sequentially, orders were down 14.4% in July.

The North American PCB book-to-bill ratio remained at parity at one in July. 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.

“July is typically a slow month for the PCB industry, and this year is no exception,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “The PCB book-to-bill ratio has been hovering around 1.00 since February, which explains the flat year-to-date sales growth we are seeing.”

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