BANNOCKBURN, IL — North American PCB shipments fell 5.3% year-over-year in July and plunged 23.1% sequentially, IPC's monthly survey of fabricators revealed.

PCB bookings in July decreased 4.3% year-over-year, and were down 17.8% from the previous month.

Year-to-date sales are up 8.3%, and orders are up 1.2%.

The data are provided by a sample of rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the US and Canada. IPC says the sample is representative of the market. The trade group does not publicly disclose total sales value in dollars.

The book-to-bill ratio was flat at 1.0. The ratio is calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to 12 months.

“Year-on-year declines in orders in seven of the last 12 months are taking a toll on sales growth in the North American PCB industry,” said Sharon Starr, director of market research, IPC. “Sales growth has slowed in recent months and dipped into negative territory in July. The slowdown is reflected in the book-to-bill ratio, which has hovered around 1.00 in the last five months. This indicates the probability of flattening sales growth in the second half of the year.”

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