BANNOCKBURN, IL — August North American PCB orders increased 7.6% year-over-year, pulling year-to-date order growth up to 1.9%, says IPC. Orders for the month were up 19.8% sequentially.

PCB shipments in August were up 0.6% year-over-year and 11.4% sequentially. Year-to-date sales growth as of August remained positive at 7.4%.

The book-to-bill ratio strengthened to 1.02. 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.

“After a lack-luster summer for the North American PCB industry, the August results brought welcome news,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Sales and order growth have both returned to positive territory, and orders outpaced sales, which brought the book-to-bill ratio back to the positive range after a three-month slump. Recent book-to-bill ratios indicate the probability of flattening sales growth but with some hope for positive growth rates in the next two quarters.”