IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced the findings from its monthly Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

PCB Book-to-Bill Ratios The North American rigid PCB industry book-to-bill ratio for March 2006 remained strong at 1.14, but the North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio dipped to 0.94. These ratios are based on monthly data collected from PCB producers that participate in IPC's monthly PCB Statistical Program. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in March 2006 was 1.13. Some analysts find the separate ratios for rigid and flex more meaningful than the combined ratio, however, because of the divergence in recent years between the rigid PCB and flexible circuit segments of the industry in growth rates and book-to-bill patterns.

The 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 the companies in IPC's survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which indicates probable near-term growth.

Rigid PCB Growth: Rigid PCB shipments are up 10.1 percent and bookings are up 15.3 percent in March 2006 from March 2005. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 7.0 percent and bookings are up 16.2 percent. Rigid PCB shipments from the survey sample increased 14.6 percent from the previous month and rigid bookings increased 10.4 percent from the previous month.

Flexible Circuit Growth: Flexible circuit shipments in March 2006 were up 0.4 percent and bookings were up 6.4 percent compared to March 2005. Year to date, flexible circuits shipments are up 7.7 percent and bookings are down 11.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments from the survey sample increased 22.6 percent and flex bookings increased 77.5 percent.

Total Industry Growth: For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in March 2006 increased 9.4 percent from March 2005, and orders booked increased 14.7 percent from March 2005. Year to date, combined industry shipments are up 7.1 percent and bookings are up 14.3 percent. Combined industry shipments for March 2006 are up 15.1 percent over the previous month, and bookings are up 13.1 percent over the previous month.

Both bookings and shipments of rigid PCBs are still going strong this year, said IPC President Denny McGuirk. Year-on-year sales growth in flexible circuits has been on the decline since last November, although it's still positive. March 2006 was the first month since February 2003 that year-on-year sales growth rates were higher for rigid PCBs than for flexible circuits, McGuirk added.

The book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment, which represents more than 75 percent of the current PCB market in North America.

The Role of Domestic Production: IPC's monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from US and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure US and Canadian PCB production. IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In March 2006, 86 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 86 percent of rigid PCB and 95 percent of flexible circuit shipments in March by IPCs survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPC's survey sample, which remains constant throughout each calendar year, but may change at the beginning of each year.

Bare Circuits Versus Assembly: Flexible circuit sales typically include value-added services, such as assembly, in addition to the bare flex circuits. In March, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPC's survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 75 percent of their shipment value reported for the month. Assembly and other services make up a large and growing segment of flexible circuit producers' business. 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 Interconnect Manufacturing Services (IMS) Business Report each month. Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.

For more information, contact IPC Director of Market Research Sharon Starr at このメールアドレスはスパムボットから保護されています。観覧するにはJavaScriptを有効にして下さい or 847-597-2817.