Printed circuit board book-to-bill ratio inches upward
Board makers are seeing sluggish demand indicating the slowdown is continuing
By Jim Carbone -- Purchasing, 9/29/2008 8:53:00 PM
The North American printed circuit board book-to-bill ratio increased slightly to 0.95 in August from 0.94 in July, according to the Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC).
For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in August 2008 increased 3.5% from August 2007 and orders booked decreased 15.5% from August 2007. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 5.6% and bookings are up 1%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for August 2008 were up 5.2% and bookings were up 2%.
A book-to-bill ratio of 0.95 means that for every $100 of boards that suppliers shipped, they got $95 in new orders.
“Year-on-year shipment growth in August was positive, which follows normal seasonal patterns, but orders are down compared to last year,” says IPC President Denny McGuirk. “This has kept the book-to-bill ratio below 1.0, although it improved slightly in August for rigid PCBs.”
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Printed circuit board book- to- bill ratio falls
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