PCB Shipments Down in September Nov 5, 2012

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Industry shipments of combined rigid PCBs and flexible circuits in September 2012 were down 6.7% and bookings decreased 3.3%, compared to September 2011, according to IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries.

Year to date, combined industry shipments were down 4.8% and bookings were down 0.2%. Compared to August 2012, combined industry shipments were up 9.8% and bookings were down 0.3%.

Rigid PCB shipments were down 5.3% in September 2012 from September 2011, and bookings were down 1.8%.

Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were down 4.7% and bookings were up 0.8%. Compared to the August 2012, rigid PCB shipments were up 10.3% and rigid bookings were flat with 0% growth.

September 2012 flexible circuit shipments were down 19.9% and were down 20.9% compared to September 2011. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 5.8% and bookings were down 9.7%. Compared to August 2012, flexible circuit shipments were up 5.3% and flex bookings were down 4.4%.

“North American PCB sales in September continued below 2011 sales, but improved over the preceding month, following normal seasonal patterns,” said Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research. “Sharp declines in flexible circuit orders over the past three months pushed the overall PCB book-to-bill ratio below parity. But the volatility of the flex business means this effect will probably be short-lived.”

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