Middlemen have not always had a good name. I have often wondered why until I became one.  In the mind of most businesses, typically, a middleman stands between the buyer and supplier when it comes to the best price.  When it comes to sourcing product from China, there are plenty of Chinese middlemen welcoming your business, and there are plenty of reasons why to use a U.S based middleman with experience that is well worth a little extra cost.

When doing business in China, unlike in the U.S., you may never know what you are getting. This statement comes from over 10 years of experience dealing with the Asian suppliers. The key to dealing with Asian suppliers is to have complete control over your supply chain;  if you don’t, you have now idea what you are getting.

Understanding this principle stems from the knowledge that the Asian businessmen will say YES to almost every request.  It is not in their gene pool to say no. “Yes- we can do it” is said more in the Asian culture than “what’s on TV” in American.  The challenge for American Printed Circuit Board buyers is where and from who is your product coming from. The Asians are excellent logistics and networking specialists. They either have a family member or a friend in the business of something and YOUR product may go to anyone of them.

Case In Point: Years ago, when entering the Chinese manufacturing market, we had a trusted relationship (or what we thought was a trusted relationship) who was a PCB supplier actually give us documentation for supplier A.  They stated they were the factory and were owners and part of the relationship. It soon came to our knowledge they had fudged the UL logo from another factory along with all the paperwork. It turned out that they claimed the PCBs were built in one factory but in fact were built in another factory with the original factory’s UL logo on the PCB and paperwork were doctored. Needless to say we terminated that relationship. It was a brutal awakening to the methodology of how the Chinese go business. There are thousands of middlemen in China shipping out your product to any type of supplier that can meet the price and delivery. You will not know until it is too late if you are really dealing direct!

It is key that if you are sourcing anything from Asia that you have control over you supply chain. PCB Solutions visits China up to, and sometimes more than 4 times per year. We review IPC1710 documents. We conduct quality audits on the factories. We meet the president of the suppliers and insist on following our product through the process flow- forced Honesty and Integrity if you will. We negotiate payment terms (typically unheard of in working with Asian suppliers).  We meet the staff and set our expectations…

So the next time you get the itch to get rid of that U.S. based middle man and play roulette with suppliers emailing you daily, think about what happens when a significant quality issue arises or if you have paid 50-100% of the cost of the product upfront and you have no leverage for a return. Did you consider the cost of wire transfer fees into your costs? How about exchange rates, shipping costs, supply chain control, customs, duties, communication, English skills of the supplier, engineering support, quality of the factory, etc…on and on.

Let our 9 + years of experience work for you. We can, source, stock, label, inventory and even provide secondary inspection on your product if necessary. We lend ourselves to being experts in sourcing Asian based products…don’t get caught trying to learn to be one and spending your quality time fixing problems. Trust the middleman!

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.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

As I have noted in other blogs on our site, the SOXX index decent indicator of demand for PCBs. Printed Circuit Board demand will typically follow 3-5 months behind the index. We see a decent demand for PCBs but the support levels of the index are softening in the recent months and have gone down a lot in comparison to April 2010. However, in comparison to 2009 lows, demand is still in position to stay steady with possibly a slight pull back in the next few months based on this indicator.

As far as Asian based suppliers, they are still fully loaded and working at capacity. Our last blog so Copper Clad Laminate slowing down in Asia generally but all our suppliers still maintain strong demand and factory levels for Printed Circuit Boards and Flexible PCBs.

Look for more data next month as we move out of the typically slower month of August.

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.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

Data source: 2010-08-23 http://www.pcbpartner.com

As the global economy recovers, the international financial market goes stable, Orders shift crisis also comes to PCB industry for many PCB makers in China. On one hand, the middle-small PCB makers rely on OEM are unable to afford the pressure of cost rise by financial crisis.; on the other hand, serious shortage of workers bring many enterprise embarrassment of shut down. At the same time, with growth of workers wage cost, increase the pressure of the enterprise’s operation. It becomes the question for PCB manufacturers to think how to solve the new crisis.

Besides shortage of workers, PCB makers developed rely on OEM need to afford the affect of financial crisis and the price rise of material, source, energy shortage and high consumption. All this make the process cost rise in China, the price advantage is being eroded. Some international companies already shift the order to the low-cost Southeast Asian, South Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Thailand. Under the situation of no significant decline in market demand, cancellation of orders in China, will inevitably be supplemented in other places.

The survey show, Japan IT enterprises have shift their PCB order to Thailand, PCB manufacturing companies in Thailand are also increasingly competitive Data shows PCB industrial value in southeast has already been 3-3.3 billion dollars, Thailand accounts 30-40% of the total. While the famous company like Gree, Supor,  Media, Glanz , Canon and so on have already built their own production plant in Vietnam.

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.

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, August 27, 2010 — IPC — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the July findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments were up 23.9 percent while bookings increased 34.4 percent in July 2010 from July 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 19.9 percent and bookings have grown 34.9 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments decreased 14.7 percent and rigid bookings decreased 16.9 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in July 2010 stood at 1.11.

View all the charts in PDF

Flexible circuit shipments in July 2010 were up 38.2 percent, and bookings were up 28.8 percent compared to July 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments increased 5.8 percent and bookings were up 17.5 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 4.6 percent and flex bookings declined 4.9 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in July 2010 remained positive but slipped down to 1.06.

View all the charts in PDF

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in July 2010 increased 25.2 percent from July 2009, as orders booked increased 33.9 percent from July 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 18.7 percent and bookings were up 33.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for July 2010 decreased 13.1 percent and bookings went down 16.0 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in July 2010 was 1.11.

“We are still seeing double-digit year-on-year growth rates for both rigid PCBs and flexible circuits as of July,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk. “July is typically a slower sales month than June, but sales are strong. The most encouraging indicator is the book-to-bill ratio, which continues solidly positive for the 15th consecutive month,” he added. “That is a sign of continuing strength in sales for the remainder of the year.”

View all the charts in PDF

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.

View all the charts in PDF

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 89 percent of the current PCB industry in North America, according to IPC’s World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report.

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, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In July 2010, 83 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 83 percent of rigid PCB and 81 percent of flexible circuit shipments in July 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 are kept 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 July, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 77 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 more than three consecutive months 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.

Contact:
Sharon Starr, IPC Director of Market Research
P:  +1 847-597-2817
E:  SharonStarr@ipc.org

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.

As the August books come to a close, PCB Solutions is happy to report steady and strong Printed Circuit Board Sales. While 2009 was tough year for manufacturing and distribution in the electronics industries, 2010 has proved to be a decent rebounding year.  At the end of August, PCB Solutions stands at a 69% increase over ytd sales in 2009.

PCB Solutions continues to see solid sales from internal house accounts and modest growth from Reps and Web leads.  PCB Solutions remains very optimistic about its growth on the web as it has rise to  the 20th position for the key search term “printed circuit board;” which is one of the most competitive key search words in the industry. Web marketing efforts by www.infogenix.com are proving great results by branding the www.pcb-solutions.com domain on line.

Last month also highlights the beginning of PCB Solutions on twitter. You can track us at http://twitter.com/PCB_Solutions We began tweeting about our business, the industry and our market place. Follow us on twitter (see our home page as well to follow).

Look for us this month to be on Facebook. Who would have ever thought social media would be an outlet for gaining web traffic in the Printed Circuit Board industry.  We are also working to gain access with wikipedia and look forward to that announcement in the near future…

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.

Good news for the industry continues to remain for the PCB and PCBA sectors. Key booking figures continue to be strong. Let’s hope it keeps rolling.

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, July 26, 2010 — IPC — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the June findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments were up 25.3 percent while bookings increased 29.3 percent in June 2010 from June 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 19.3 percent and bookings have grown 35.0 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 13.7 percent and rigid bookings increased 9.7 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in June 2010 stood at 1.12.

View all the charts in PDF

Flexible circuit shipments in June 2010 were up 14.8 percent, and bookings were up 11.0 percent compared to June 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments increased 0.6 percent and bookings were up 15.5 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 28.1 percent and flex bookings declined 2.7 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in June 2010 remained high at 1.15.

View all the charts in PDF

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in June 2010 increased 24.4 percent from June 2009, as orders booked increased 27.8 percent from June 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 17.6 percent and bookings were up 33.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for June 2010 increased 14.8 percent and bookings went up 8.6 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in June 2010 was 1.12.

“The book-to-bill ratios for both rigid PCBs and flexible circuits remain well above parity, which suggests a positive outlook for the remainder of the year,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk.  “Sales growth is stabilizing, but year-on-year growth in both segments is continuing in double digits,” he added.

View all the charts in PDF

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.

View all the charts in PDF

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.

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, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In June 2010, 83 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production also accounted for 83 percent of rigid PCB and 81 percent of flexible circuit shipments in June 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 are kept 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 June, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 77 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 more than three consecutive months 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.

Contact:
Sharon Starr, IPC Director of Market Research
P:  +1 847-597-2817 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +1 847-597-2817 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
E:  SharonStarr@ipc.org

# # #

About IPC
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,700 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.7 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; and Shanghai and Shenzhen, China.

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.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, June 25, 2010 — IPC — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the May findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments were up 31.4 percent while bookings increased 45.8 percent in May 2010 from May 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 18.0 percent and bookings have grown 36.3 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 1.3 percent and rigid bookings increased 6.5 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in May 2010 continued its climb to 1.13.

View all the charts in PDF

Flexible circuit shipments in May 2010 were up 10.5 percent, and bookings were up 59.3 percent compared to May 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 2.6 percent and bookings were up 16.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 16.0 percent and flex bookings grew by 33.4 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in May 2010 made a long leap up to 1.18.

View all the charts in PDF

For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in May 2010 increased 29.6 percent from May 2009, as orders booked increased 46.8 percent from May 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 16.2 percent and bookings were up 34.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for May 2010 increased 2.2 percent and bookings went up 8.3 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in May 2010 increased to 1.13.

“Both yearly and monthly growth rates in the North American PCB industry are now positive,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk. “That means the industry is not only doing better than last year, but is growing monthly as well. Despite strong sales,” he added, “orders are growing even faster. That keeps moving the book-to-bill ratio up, which indicates continued sales growth this year.”

View all the charts in PDF

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.

View all the charts in PDF

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.

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, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In May 2010, 84 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production also accounted for 84 percent of rigid PCB and flexible circuit shipments in May 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 May, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC’s survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 58 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.

Contact:
Sharon Starr, IPC Director of Market Research
P:  +1 847-597-2817
E:  SharonStarr@ipc.org

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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.

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/pcb.html

http://www.pcb-solutions.com/flex.html

Something that electronics purchasers are suffering from at the moment is long delivery times on printed circuit boards. Something that often occurs during economical upturns.

The PCB delivery shortage is partly due to the limited availability of PCB laminates. In turn this is due to increased copper deficiency, something that happens in most economic upturns. This has resulted in a sudden price increase for the laminate. The price increase in China is around 20% and in extreme cases 25%. This price increase is not reflected fully in the total PCB price. If the laminate price in China increases by 20% the PCB price tends to increase approximately 15%, a source told Evertiq. It is also more likely that price increases are higher from Chinese manufacturers than from European manufacturers, the source noted.

PCB delivery shortage is not the biggest problem that electronics buyers today are suffering from. The lack of components allow buyers to wait even longer after the PCBs have been delivered. Several semiconductor giants have delivery times around 20 weeks at present and 3 days just to get the components out from the warehouses, according to an electronics purchaser. It has happened several times that many component manufacturers have not prioritized to recognize purchasing orders.

Several European PCB manufacturers told Evertiq that they are running on full production at the moment. On the PCB-trading side, the average delivery time on trading volumes from PCB distributors is 5-6 weeks. Just a few months ago, the delivery time was 3-4 weeks.

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BANNOCKBURN, Ill., USA, March 25, 2010 — IPC — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the February findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

PCB Industry Growth Rates and Book-to-Bill Ratios Announced
Rigid PCB shipments were up 9.4 percent while bookings increased 36.4 percent in February 2010 from February 2009. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were up 3.6 percent and bookings have grown 27.9 percent. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 4.7 percent and rigid bookings increased 8.1 percent. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in February 2010 grew to 1.09.

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Flexible circuit shipments in February 2010 were down 2.1 percent, but bookings were down 37.4 percent compared to February 2009. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 3.1 percent and bookings were down 0.4 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 4.9 percent and flex bookings fell by 36.4 percent. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio fell below parity to 0.92.

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For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in February 2010 increased 8.5 percent from February 2009, as orders booked increased 29.1 percent from February 2009. Year to date, combined industry shipments were up 3.0 percent and bookings were up 25.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for February 2010 increased 4.8 percent and bookings went up 4.5 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in February 2010 increased to 1.07.

“Rigid PCB bookings have outpaced shipments for the past 11 months. That’s reflected in the high rigid PCB book-to-bill ratio and it’s an encouraging indicator of future growth,” said IPC President & CEO Denny McGuirk. “We saw a big drop in flexible circuit orders in February, but no sign of a trend yet, due to the volatility of flex orders and sales.”

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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.

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.

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, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In February 2010, 83 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 85 percent of rigid PCB and 68 percent of flexible circuit shipments in February 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 February, 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.

About IPC
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,700 member companies which represent all facets of the electronic interconnect industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.5 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; and Shanghai, China.

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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U.S. Tech Market Shows Signs of Life
A Refresh Cycle At Last

April 10, 2010
By Larry Barrett

Thanks to a boost from a substantial corporate upgrade cycle and the improved demand for strategic software investments in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) projects, the U.S. technology market is poised for robust rebound in 2010, according to Forrester Research’s latest report.

After years of delaying or truncating investment in new equipment and software, enterprise customers are finally opening up their wallets for IT purchases that improve overall organizational efficiency and help companies differentiate themselves from their competitors, researchers said.

“The tech downturn of 2008 to 2009 is unofficially over,” Andrew Bartels, a Forrester vice president and principal analyst, said in the report. “With growing evidence that an economic recovery started in the US and other countries in Q3 2009, the pieces are in place for a 2010 tech spending rebound.”

In 2010, Forrester is predicting the total U.S. IT market will grow 8.4 percent, up from the 8.1 percent improvement it previously forecast. It now expects global IT spending will improve about 7.7 percent this year, a little slower than it previously forecast mainly due to international currency fluctuations.

Computer equipment, particularly the replacement of older PCs, servers and storage equipment, is now expected to surge 11.1 percent from 2009 while software sales will improve 10.5 percent.

“For software, growth will result from a mixture of the revival of deferred licensed software purchases following the 2009 capital freeze, ongoing growth in SaaS software, and continued strong growth in smart computing platform technologies like service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure, virtualization software, and analytics,” the report said.

Computer equipment sales are now projected to rise to around $83 billion with PCs accounting for roughly $39 billion of that. Communications equipment will top out at $108 billion, while telecom services and IT services and outsourcing spending will check in at $191 billion and $165 billion, respectively.

Total U.S. business and government IT spending will total more than $741 billion this year, of which about $194 billion will be spent on software — the single largest category. New applications will represent $88 billion in investment, followed by custom applications at $43 billion and middleware and operating systems software coming it at $52 billion and $11 billion apiece.

Forrester’s findings dovetail with early projections from major manufacturers, software developers and independent research firms.

Gartner earlier this year predicted total PC unit shipments would improve more than 20 percent this year to a total of more than 366 million units shipped, up from 305.8 million units in 2009.

By industry, Forrester expects U.S. financial services and insurance companies to increase their total IT spend by 11.4 percent this year while manufacturers and telecom companies will ramp up their IT spending by 9.8 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

Larry Barrett is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Please see us at: www.pcb-solutions.com is a supplier of Domestic and Asian Rigid, Flex and Rigid-Flex Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Domestic Tier I PCBA, Domestic Sheet Metal, Domestic Injection Molding and other Custom Fabricated Services

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James Brown
V.P. Sales & Marketing
PCB Solutions, LLC
jamesb@pcb-solutions.com