BANNOCKBURN, IL — The 90-day moving average sales at North American electronics manufacturing services companies fell 4.4% year-over-year in October, according to a new report from IPC.

Shipments fell 0.8% sequentially, the trade group added.

October bookings rose 40% year-over-year and rose 22.2% from the previous month.

The data are compiled by IPC based on data provided by a representative sample of contract electronics assemblers selling in the US and Canada.

“Supply chain constraints and parts availability continue to hamper electronics manufacturing. Order flow grew strongly during the month, while shipments declined,” said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist, IPC. “I estimate shipments were roughly 12% below were they would be in a well-functioning market.”

The book-to-bill ratio was 1.48, up 70 basis points from September. 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 that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to 12 months.

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