BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American PWB shipments rose 3.5% year-over-year in August, while orders fell 15.5% compared to 2007, IPC said.
 
Year to date, shipments were up 5.6% and orders were up 1%. Sequentially, combined shipments for August were up 5.2%, while bookings were up 2%. The book-to-bill ratio was 0.95.
 
For the month, rigid PWB shipments were up 2.5% and bookings were down 14.9% year-over-year. Year to date, rigid PWB shipments are up 5.3% and bookings are up 1.7%. Sequentially, shipments increased 5.8% and bookings increased 3.9%. The book-to-bill ratio increased slightly to 0.95.
 
Flex circuit shipments in August were up 18.9% and orders were down 24.3% compared to 2007. Year to date, flex shipments were up 9% and orders were down 8.7%. Compared to the previous month, shipments were down 2.2% and bookings declined 21.5%. The book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.90.
 
In August, 76% of the total PWB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 76% of rigid PCB and 84% of flexible circuit shipments, according to IPC survey participants.
 
For the month, the flex circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated bare boards accounted for approximately 62% of their shipment value. The remainder includes assemblies and other value-added services.
 
IPC does not disclose the number of companies that participate in the survey, making it difficult to assess whether the data are representative of the industry at large.

COVENTRY, UK – The fifth Trade and Investment TechnologyWorld conference will take place Nov. 17 and 18 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK.
 
Smart Group and Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network will organize the seminar Breakthroughs – Bending the Design Rules! Technologies to be covered include energy harvesting, solder-free electronics assemblies, design and product responsibility, heat dissipation in electronic design, flexible interconnection markets, and system-in-package.
 
Speakers include Joseph Fjelstad, Verdant Electronics; Thomas Ahrens, Fraunhofer Institute; Dr. Craig Hillman, DfR Solutions; David Pedder, TWI; and Markys Cain, NPL.
 
For more information, visit www.technologyworld08.com.
 
 

HOUSTON – Flextronics will lay off up to 60 workers here as part of a minor restructuring, according to published reports.

The EMS company plans to complete the reductions by mid November, the Houston Business Journal said. The workers, who have been notified of the pending changes, include engineers and administrative personnel.