Electronics industry association IPC on Monday announced the March 2019 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board Statistical Program, showing that March was strong for year-over-year PCB sales growth, though its orders declined and the book-to-bill ratio was down to its lowest level in more than two years.
Per IPC's numbers, total North American PCB shipments in March jumped 19.1% year-over-year, and year-to-date sales growth through March was 16.4%. March 2019 shipments surged 32.9% compared to February, while bookings dipped 0.9% year-over-year. Year-to-date, orders are up 2.4% through March, while March bookings were up 10.1% from February's.
“Strong sales for the North American PCB industry in March, combined with lackluster order growth, brought the book-to-bill ratio down to 1.00, its lowest level in more than two years,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Year-over-year sales growth has outpaced order growth for the past 10 months, indicating the likelihood of slowing sales growth in the coming months.”
Interpreting IPC's Data
IPC's 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—a positive indicator for sales growth over the next three to 12month—while a ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.
IPC said year-over-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth, while month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility.
IPC’s monthly PCB industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid PCB and flexible circuit manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada.
