Association Connecting Electronics Industries today the November findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Year-on-year sales growth strengthened in November but, due to weak orders, the book-to-bill ratio declined further to 0.91.
Performance over Last Year is Mixed.
Total North American PCB shipments increased 4.0 percent in November 2013 from November 2012. Year-to-date shipment growth is still negative compared to the same period in 2012, but is improving and reached -2.3 percent in November.
North American PCB bookings fell 6.7 percent year over year, which pushed year-to-date order growth back into negative territory at -0.4 percent.
PCB shipments and bookings in November were both lower than in the prior month, reflecting normal seasonal patterns. Compared to October 2013, PCB shipments in November were down 6.3 percent and bookings were down 15.5 percent.
“While sales continued to strengthen in the North American PCB industry compared to last year, orders declined,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “This disparity between sales and order growth pushed the book-to-bill ratio to its lowest point since March 2009,” she added, “indicating a slow and possibly bumpy recovery going into 2014.”