BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American printed circuit board orders in May decreased 7.3% year-over-year, pushing year-to-date order growth into negative territory at 1.3% below the same period last year. Orders were down 33.6% sequentially, says IPC.

Total North American PCB shipments for the month were down 3.1% year-over-year and 26.7% sequentially. Year to date, shipments are 4.3% below the same period in 2016.

Weaker orders caused the PCB book-to-bill ratio to retreat, but it remained positive at 1.05. 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.

“May was a slow month for the North American PCB industry, as both sales and orders were below last year’s levels,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Although weak orders pulled the book-to-bill ratio down from April’s 20-month peak, the good news is the ratio remains above parity (1.00) for the fourth consecutive month, which is a positive indicator for strengthening sales in the second half of the year.”

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