BANNOCKBURN, IL — Total North American PCB orders in January grew 25.3% year-over-year and were down 13.9% sequentially.

PCB shipments in January were up 9.8% compared to the same month last year, says IPC. Sequentially, January shipments decreased 8.5%.

Due to continued strong order growth in January, the book-to-bill ratio climbed to a 12-year high of 1.16. 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 twelve months.

“Year-over-year sales growth for the North American PCB industry continued to climb in January, and growth was positive for the fifth consecutive month,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Strong bookings growth also continued, pushing the book-to-bill ratio to its highest point since September 2005. This performance, capping 12 consecutive months of positive book-to-bill ratios, offers a strong indication of continued sales growth in the first half of 2018.”