North American PCB sales growth continues at slow pace

Total North American PCB shipments increased 0.4 percent in November 2015 compared to November 2014. Year-to-date shipment growth remained at 0.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, PCB shipments were down 5.8 percent, writes industry association IPC. PCB bookings rose 7.9 percent compared to November 2014, strengthening year-to-date order growth to 2.6 percent. Orders were up 1.0 percent in November compared to the previous month. “Order growth recovered in November for the North American PCB industry, but negative order growth in the preceding two months pulled the book-to-bill ratio below parity for the first time in 14 months,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Strong order growth in late 2014 and in many months of 2015 have kept sales growing, although at a very slow pace,” she added. © IPC