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Analysis |
North American PCB sales and orders continue to climb
Both sales and orders were up year-over-year in January. Due to continued strong order growth in January, the book-to-bill ratio climbed to a 12-year high of 1.16, the IPC reports.
Total North American PCB shipments in January 2018 were up 9.8 percent compared to the same month last year. Compared to the preceding month, January shipments decreased 8.5 percent.
PCB bookings in January grew 25.3 percent year-over-year. January bookings were down 13.9 percent compared to the previous month.
“Year-over-year sales growth for the North American PCB industry continued to climb in January and growth was positive for the fifth consecutive month,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Strong bookings growth also continued, pushing the book-to-bill ratio to its highest point since September 2005. This performance, capping 12 consecutive months of positive book-to-bill ratios, offers a strong indication of continued sales growth in the first half of 2018,” she added.
© IPC
