BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American PCB shipments fell 28.3% in March, while orders dropped 38%, according to IPC.
 
Year to date, combined shipments are down 22.7% and orders declined 34%. The book-to-bill for March was 0.91, says IPC.
 
For March, rigid shipments fell 30.5%, and orders were down 39.8% compared to the same period last year. Shipments and bookings did show positive growth over February figures, up 9.6% and 10.5% respectively.
 
Year to date, rigid shipments dropped 24.6% and bookings are down 35.6%, says IPC.
 
Flexible circuit shipments for March rose 1% and bookings fell 12% compared to last year. The book-to-bill for the month declined to 0.87.
 
Flexible shipments climbed 22.3% over February figures, and bookings were up 15%.
 
Year to date, shipments are up 6%, while bookings are down 7.4%, says IPC.
 
Although sales and orders increased in March, rigid PCBs have not seen significant growth year-on-year. Orders have not picked up, and sales are expected to remain weak in the second quarter, according to Denny McGuirk, president IPC.