BANNOCKBURN, IL – April North American printed circuit board orders increased 6.4% year-over-year, boosting year-to-date growth for the first quarter to 5%.
Orders were down 19.3% sequentially, says IPC.

Shipments were up 5.6% year-over-year, with year-to-date growth remaining at 5.5% for the first four months of the year. Sequentially, April shipments were down 16.8%.

The book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.02. A ratio of more than one suggests current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to six months. A ratio of less than one indicates the reverse.

“April was another good month for the North American PCB industry, with solid year-on-year growth in both sales and orders,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Bookings exceeded shipments for the sixth consecutive month, but only by a small margin in April. This brought the book-to-bill ratio down, although it remains positive. Growth rates and book-to-bill ratios for the first quarter changed slightly from previously published reports, due to a re-tabulation necessitated by a change in the survey sample this month. The revised ratios are 1.05 in January, 1.04 in February, and 1.05 in March. April’s 1.02 book-to-bill continues a positive trend, indicating continued sales growth in the second and third quarters.”

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