IPC Announces First Quarter North American PCB Market Overview

IPC announced the first quarter monthly North American printed circuit board (PCB) statistics program. From March 2010 to March 2011, PCB hardboard shipments increased by 5.1%, and it is expected to decline by 10.1%. Year-to-date, PCB rigid board shipments rose by 6.7%, with a planned drop of 8.5%. Compared to the previous month, PCB hardboard shipments increased by 14.9%, and PCB hardboard bookings increased by 26.0%.

The North American PCB PCB industry maintained a sales ratio of 0.94 in March 2011. Compared with March 2010, shipments of flexible printed circuit boards increased by 9.1% in March 2011, and are expected to decline by 7.4%. Year-to-date, shipments of flexible printed circuit boards have increased by 9.3% and are scheduled to increase by 9.6%. Compared to the previous month, shipments of flexible printed circuit boards increased by 15.0%, and bookings decreased by 13.2%. In March 2011, the ratio of sales to sales of North American flexible printed circuit boards was stable at 1.04.

With the combination of PCB rigid boards and flexible circuit boards, industry shipments increased by 5.4% from March 2010 to March 2011, and orders fell by 9.9%. Year to date, combined with industry shipments rose 6.9% and bookings fell 7.1%. Compared with the previous month, combined industry shipments in March 2011 increased by 14.9% and bookings increased by 21.9%. In February 2011, the combined ratio of sales to sales of the (hard board and flexo) industry was stable at 0.95.

“North America’s PCB sales were strong in February. Following normal seasonal patterns, sales of PCB hardboards and flexible circuit boards were higher than last year.” said Denny McGuirk, IPC president and chief executive officer. “Sales stronger than scheduled are dynamic The ratio of order sales to sales is slightly lower than the benchmark, indicating a slow growth in the next quarter."

The formula for calculating the ratio of sales to sales ratio value of the company's orders over the past three months through the IPC survey sample is divided by the sales value at the same time. A ratio of over 1.00 indicates that current demand is higher than supply, which is a positive indication of sales growth over the next two to three months.

The ratio of book-to-bill ratios and growth rates combined with PCB rigid boards and flexible circuit boards is severely affected by the PCB hard board area. According to the IPC World PCB Production Report, it is estimated that PCB hard board represents 89% of the current North American PCB industry.

The IPC North America PCB industry's monthly survey tracks the booking and delivery of facilities from the United States and Canada, providing indicators of regional demand. These figures do not measure PCB production in the United States and Canada. To track regional production trends, the IPC asked the survey respondents as to the percentage of production that they reported domestically (ie, in the United States or Canada). In March 2011, 83% of total PCB shipments were reported domestically. According to an IPC survey, domestic production accounted for 83% of PCB rigid boards and 85% of flexible circuit boards shipped in March. These numbers were significantly affected by the mixed companies in the IPC survey sample, which only slightly changed in January but remained constant for the rest of the year.

Flexible printed circuit board sales, in addition to bare flexible circuits, often include value-added services such as assembly. In March, the IPC survey sample of flexible circuit manufacturers showed that bare wires accounted for approximately 49% of the shipment value. Assembly and other services constitute a huge and growing part of the flexible printed circuit board production industry. This phenomenon is also sensitive to changes in survey samples, which may occur at the beginning of each calendar year.

Year-to-date, compared with the figures for the same period of the previous year, the growth rate provided the most significant outlook for industrial growth. The comparison between months and months should be cautious because they may reflect periodic effects. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios between months and months may not be significant, unless there is a clear trend for more than three consecutive months of change. It is also important to consider changes in bookings and shipments and to understand what changes are made to the ratio of booked sales to sales.