BANNOCKBURN, IL—Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced the October 2018 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Year-over-year sales and order growth were positive in October, and the book-to-bill ratio held steady at 1.04.
Total North American PCB shipments in October 2018 were up 5.3 percent compared to the same month last year. This year to date, shipments are 9.7 percent above the same period last year. Compared to the preceding month, October shipments decreased 11.9 percent.
PCB bookings in October were up 2.2 percent year-over-year. Year-to-date order growth was 8.5 percent above the same period last year. Bookings in October were up 0.4 percent from the previous month.
“The North American PCB industry sales growth trend continued for the 14th consecutive month and order growth rebounded, but the downward trend in order growth rates seen in recent months is now reflected in slower sales growth” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “We have seen a long period of growth. Book-to-bill ratios have been above parity for 21 straight months, which indicates the likelihood of continued sales growth at least for the rest of this year.”
Detailed Data Available
The next edition of IPC’s North American PCB Market Report, containing detailed fourth-quarter 2018 data from IPC’s PCB Statistical Program, will be available in February 2019. The quarterly report presents detailed findings on rigid PCB and flexible circuit sales and orders, including separate rigid and flex book-to-bill ratios, growth trends by product types and company size tiers, demand for prototypes, sales growth to military and medical markets, and other timely data. This report is available free to current participants in IPC’s PCB Statistical Program and by subscription to others. PCB companies that are IPC members doing business in North America are invited to contact [email protected] for information about participating.