PCB Solutions, LLC continues to see stable Book to Bill PCB orders consistent with market reports from IPC. Good news that points toward growth for the market is represented in the Philadelphia: SOXX Index ; a composite of 18 high tech stocks that produce components for PCB Assembly.  While the growth is still no where near the 2006, 2007 or even 2008 highs (450-550), the growth trend above 300 is very encouraging. The exchange closed today at 357 just off its 52 week high of 370 in January.
The PCB industry, from our experience, lags 3-6 months behind this index in bookings. Stable, incremental growth is hopeful as the year progresses.

Please visit our home page at: www.pcb-solutions.com We are a supplier of Domestic and off-shore Rigid, Rigid-Flex and Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Military PCBs, Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services.

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PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments are down 2.0 percent while bookings increased 19.8 percent in January 2010 from January 2009. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in January 2010 remained strong at 1.06.

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Flexible circuit shipments in January 2010 were down 4.1 percent but bookings were up 59.3 percent compared to January 2009. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio climbed above parity to 1.03.

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For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in January 2010 decreased 2.1 percent from January 2009, as orders booked increased 22.2 percent from January 2009. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in January 2010 held steady at 1.05.

“The best news from our January PCB surveys is the huge growth in orders compared to January of last year,” said IPC President Denny McGuirk. “Sales are still down slightly from last year but are increasing steadily,” he added. “The book-to-bill ratio for all PCBs has stayed above 1.0 for nine months now, indicating continued sales growth in 2010,” McGuirk concluded.

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The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from companies in IPC’s survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

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Book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 90 percent of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC’s World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report.

Every January, IPC opens its monthly statistical programs to new participants, resulting in a slight change in the survey sample. Therefore, January’s month-to-month growth rates are not available. Reporting of month-to-month and year-to-date growth rates will resume next month.

The Role of Domestic Production
IPC’s monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure U.S. and Canadian PCB production. To track regional production trends, however, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In January 2010, 82 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 82 percent of rigid PCB and 72 percent of flexible circuit shipments in January by IPC’s survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPC’s survey sample, which changed slightly in January but will remain constant through the remainder of the year.

Bare Circuits Versus Assembly
Flexible circuit sales typically include value-added services such as assembly, in addition to the bare flex circuits. In January, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 56 percent of their shipment value reported for the month. Assembly and other services make up a large and growing segment of flexible circuit producers’ businesses. This figure is also sensitive to changes in the survey sample, which may occur at the beginning of each calendar year.

Interpreting the Data
Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month may not be significant unless a trend of three consecutive months or more is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

The information in IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics is based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid and flexible PCB manufacturers in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio and the PCB Statistical Program Report each month. Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.