About 21% of the PWB shipment and orders reported were built offshore and sold by North American suppliers, said IPC, which tracks the data.

Year to date, PWB shipments were down 23.3% and bookings were off 20.1%. Sequentially, shipments fell 3.4% and orders dropped 6.6%. The book-to-bill ratio slipped slightly to 1.07.

The book-to-bill 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. 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 two to six months.

Rigid shipments fell 11.3% and bookings were down 4.1%. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were down 24.8% and bookings 21.3%. Sequentially, shipments declined 2.6% and orders decreased 6.8%. The rigid book-to-bill ratio was 1.07. Rigid PCBs make up an estimated 91% of the PWB industry in North America.

Flex circuit shipments fell 3.5% and bookings rose 31.9% over November 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 1.1% and bookings were down 2.4%. Sequentially, flex shipments fell 12.9% and bookings 3.4%. The book-to-bill ratio climbed to 1.02. About 27% of the flex circuit sales include assembled and other value-added services.

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