The German printed circuit board market in March 2006

The revenue of the printed circuit board manufacturers increased about 12 percent compared to February and is about 17 percent higher than in the same month of the previous year. This level was achieved last in 2001. Also the orders achieved a new peak. Compared to the previous months orders are 18 percent higher and in contrast to March 2005 even around 40 percent up. In the first quarter orders are 26 percent up compared to the same quarter of the previous year. This positive trend is observed in all industry segments. The Book-to-Bill Ratio reaches a value of 1.08 which was achieved last in March 1997. This trend continues for nine months and so far there are no signs for a downturn. The number of employees increased again slightly, but did no reach the level before the reductions at the end of the year 2005.