North American PCB sales growth continues – orders decline in July

Total North American PCB shipments in July 2016 were 1.2 percent above the same month last year. Year-to-date as of July, shipment growth is up 5.4 percent. Compared to the preceding month, July shipments were down 18.0 percent. PCB bookings in July decreased 16.3 percent year-on-year, bringing year-to-date bookings growth down to a negative 1.1 percent. Orders in July 2016 were down 26.1 percent from the previous month. “While year-on-year sales growth continued in the North American PCB industry in July, it was the decline in orders for the second consecutive month that pushed the book-to-bill ratio farther down,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Growth rates have been mixed for different segments of the industry,” she added, “with some extreme differences between rigid PCB and flexible circuit producers, and between company size tiers.” ----- Images: © IPC