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PCB |
Growth slows for the North American PCB industry
North American printed circuit board sales growth was flat and orders declined in May, and the book-to-bill ratio slipped below parity, according to IPC.
Total North American PCB shipments increased just 0.1 percent in May 2014 from May 2013, which moved year-to-date shipment growth to -0.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, PCB shipments declined 0.3 percent.
PCB bookings fell by 18.0 percent year over year in May, pushing year-to-date order growth down to -8.1 percent. Order growth fell 14.3 percent from the previous month. The North American PCB book-to-bill ratio dropped below parity to 0.98.
“While sales growth is slowing, declining orders pushed the book-to-bill ratio below parity after just two months of positive ratios,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “This setback in the industry’s recovery is likely to be short-lived, given the positive economic outlook for North America this year,” she added.
