BANNOCKBURN, IL — North American printed circuit board shipments in June were up 5.5% year-over-year and 10.7% sequentially, said IPC. Year-to-date sales growth was 11% percent as of June.

June PCB orders decreased 5.9% year-over-year and grew 3.2% sequentially, bringing year-to-date order growth down to 2.4%.

The book-to-bill ratio returned to parity at 1.00. 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 twelve months.

“The North American PCB industry continues to enjoy sales growth but at a slowing pace,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Order growth has also slowed, with the year-over-year growth rate dipping into negative territory in June for the third time this year. Declining order growth has put downward pressure on the book-to-bill ratio. The fact that the ratios have been at or near parity in recent months indicates sales growth is likely to slow in the second half of the year.”

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