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PCB |
PCB market rallies in October 2012
October sales figures for PCB manufacturers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were higher - almost 13 percent - as those from September.
This increase even holds to last year; YoY figures increased by 4.5 percent, reports the ZVEI PCB and Electronic Systems. YTD, cumulative revenue also increased - making the difference to revenues for the same period 2011 smaller. However, figures are still 8% lower when compared to the first 10 months of 2011.
Order intake in October also increased, even if figures for October 2011 were missed (by 1 percent). By mid-year, a high shortfall had accumulated. This, however, was balanced to a large extend. Compared with September 2012, order intake increased nearly 3 percent.
In Germany, Europe's largest PCB production site, volume reductions in photovoltaics and the automotive mass market contributed to a decline. This could only be partially offset by growth in industrial, medical and military electronics in Austria and Switzerland.
The book-to-bill ratio reached 0.91.
The number of employees fell by 4.5 percent. Most temporary contracts were not renewed.