BANNOCKBURN, IL – Demand for printed circuit boards remained tepid in August, leading IPC to forecast flat growth through year-end.

North American printed circuit board orders decreased 4.5% compared to August 2013, while shipments dropped 3.6%, the trade group said.  

Sequentially, PCB shipments were up 4.9%, but orders fell 5%.

Orders are down 5.9% year-to-date, while shipments are off 0.9%.

The book-to-bill ratio edged up to just above parity at 1.01 in August. 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.

“August business results for the North American PCB industry continued slightly below last year’s levels,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research, “but the PCB book-to-bill ratio continued hovering near parity and actually strengthened a bit in August. Flat growth is still expected for the remainder of 2014.”