BANNOCKBURN, IL — Sales at North American printed circuit board fabricators were up 7.7% compared to the same month last year.

On a sequential basis, shipments fell 22.1%, IPC announced today.

PCB year-to-date bookings in January were up 6.3% compared to last year. Bookings in January fell 28.1% from the previous month.

“Supply chains are showing some early signs of improvement, which is helping fuel shipment growth at the start of the year. But backlogs remain higher as manufacturers work through strong orders,” said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist, IPC. “We believe supply chain constraints will continue to slowly ease through the remainder of the year which should help companies improve shipment schedules.”

The book-to-bill ratio is 1.18, up 10 basis points. The ratio is calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to 12 months. A ratio of less than 1.0 indicates the reverse.

IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the US and Canada.