BANNOCKBURN, IL – Total North American printed circuit board shipments increased 3.6% year-over-year in October.

The 90-day average PCB orders increased 7% year-over-year, bringing year-to-date growth into positive territory at 0.1%, says IPC.

Sales and order growth strengthened in October, but the book-to-bill ratio declined to 0.94. The ratio is determined by dividing the total number of orders (in dollars) by the sales over a set period of time. 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 six months.

Year-to-date shipment growth remains down, at 2.9%, but is improving.

PCB shipments and orders in October were both lower than in the prior month, reflecting normal seasonal patterns. Sequentially, PCB shipments in October were down 6.6%, and orders were down 4%.

“Although both sales and order growth are trending up compared to last year, sales have outpaced orders in the past three months, causing the book-to-bill ratio to dip,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Year-on-year sales growth has been improving for the past six consecutive months and finally turned positive in October. While a recovery in the second half of 2013 was anticipated, it has been slower than expected.”