Growth slows for the North American PCB industry

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According to “North American Printed Circuit Board Statistical Program” released by IPC (Association Connecting Electronics Industries), sales growth was flat and orders declined in May. Total North American PCB shipments increased just 0.1 percent in May 2014 from May 2013, which moved year-to-date shipment growth to -0.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, PCB shipments declined 0.3 percent. PCB bookings fell by 18 percent year over year in May, pushing year-to-date order growth down to -8.1 percent. Order growth fell 14.3 percent from the previous month. The North American PCB book-to-bill ratio dropped below parity to 0.98. “While sales growth is slowing, declining orders pushed the book-to-bill ratio below parity after just two months of positive ratios”, said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “This setback in the industry’s recovery is likely to be short-lived, given the positive economic outlook for North America this year”, she added.