IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the June findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced

Flexible circuit shipments in June 2010 were up 14.8%, and bookings were up 11% compared to June 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments increased 0.6% and bookings were up 15.5%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 28.1% and flex bookings declined 2.7%. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in June 2010 remained high at 1.15.

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in June 2010 increased 24.4% from June 2009, as orders booked increased 27.8% from June 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 17.6% and bookings were up 33.4%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for June 2010 increased 14.8% and bookings went up 8.6%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in June 2010 was 1.12.

"The book-to-bill ratios for both rigid PCBs and flexible circuits remain well above parity, which suggests a positive outlook for the remainder of the year," said IPC President and CEO, Denny McGuirk. "Sales growth is stabilizing, but year-on-year growth in both segments is continuing in double digits," he added.

The book-to-bill ratios are 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 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

Book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 89% of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC's World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report.

The Role of Domestic Production

IPC's monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure U.S. and Canadian PCB production. To track regional production trends, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the U.S. or Canada).

In June 2010, 83% of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production also accounted for 83% of rigid PCB and 81% of flexible circuit shipments in June by IPC's survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPC's survey sample, which changed slightly in January, but are kept constant through the remainder of the year.