FRANKFURT – Third quarter printed circuit board sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were down 11% year-over-year and up 1.1% sequentially, according to ZVEI. Mechanical engineering and the automotive industry experienced a drop in sales.

In September, orders were up 28% sequentially.

PCB manufacturers in the region are reportedly cautious, resulting from uncertainty among market players, triggered by the trade conflicts between the US and China, the US and Europe, Brexit and the crises in the Near and Middle East.

The book-to-bill ratio reached 1.03 in the third quarter. However, for the first nine months of 2019, the book-to-bill was 0.94.

The number of employees fell 2% in the third quarter year-over-year.