PCB market back on track in 2010

Compared to December 2009, volumes increased by 34.2%. The cumulative sales exceeded the corresponding figure for 2009 by 33.5%. Compared to the pre-crisis year 2008, volumes also increased by 2%. PCB manufacturers were therefore able to overcome the downturn already in 2010, states the industry association. The order intake for December was 5% higher that that of November, but 7% lower than in December 2009 (exceptionally high). Particularly the high-volume segment saw a significant increase at the end of 2010. For the year 2010 as a whole, order volumes increased by more that 50% (compared to 2009). Compared to 2008, order volumes are 19.2% higher. The industry association has never recorded such high growth rates before. The book-to-bill ratio for December stood at 1.01. The figure for 2010 stands at 1.17 - even higher than the previous peak in 2000. Staff numbers increased by 11.2% compared to 2009 and 3.8% compared to 2008. The continued strong growth in demand contributed to this development. © ZVEI