FRANKFURT, GERMANY -- Sales of printed circuit boards among fabricators in Germany, Austria and Switzerland rose 11.6% year-over-year in January.

Companies with annual profits of more than €50 million showed particular strength, as did firms supplying to the automotive industry, said ZVEI-Fachverband PCB and Electronic Systems, which compiles the data.

Orders rose 31.7% over the previous year, the highest such increase in the past 15 years.

The book-to-bill ratio, which compares orders to sales, rose to 1.06, meaning €106 worth of orders were placed for every €100 worth of shipments.

The number of employees increased 5.9%.

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