DACH PCB market felt the pressure in October 2016

The cumulative sales figures recorded for the first ten months of 2016 were 1.2% lower than those recorded for the same period of 2015. However, it corresponds to the average of the last few years, according to the industry association ZVEI PCB and Electronic Systems. Order intake in October stood, with a drop of almost 25%, significantly below that reported for October 2015. This was caused, among other things, by the fewer working days but also by production shifts to Asian facilities. Cumulatively, order intake per workday remained the same over the first 10 months of 2016 (when compared to the corresponding time period of 2015). At 0.81, the book-to-bill ratio for October 2016 was the lowest over the last 25 months. With a drop of 0.4 percent compared to October 2015, the number of employees within the DACH region was at its lowest level of 2016.