North American PCB Sales Decline, Following Negative Order Growth IPC Releases PCB Industry Results for July 2019

IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the July 2019 findings from its North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales growth in July turned negative, following order growth into negative territory. The book-to-bill ratio remained at parity (1.00).

Total North American PCB shipments in July 2019 were down 5.3 percent compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date sales growth as of July remained positive at 8.3 percent. Compared to the preceding month, July shipments decreased 23.1 percent.

PCB bookings in July decreased 4.3 percent year-over-year, bringing year-to-date order growth down to a positive 1.2 percent. Bookings in July were down 17.8 percent from the previous month.

“Year-on-year declines in orders in seven of the last 12 months are taking a toll on sales growth in the North American PCB industry,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “Sales growth has slowed in recent months and dipped into negative territory in July. The slowdown is reflected in the book-to-bill ratio, which has hovered around 1.00 in the last five months. This indicates the probability of flattening sales growth in the second half of the year.”

Note: The January 2019 ratio has been revised since its original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.

Note: The November 2018, January 2019 and June 2019 growth rates have been revised since their original publication due to updated data from statistical program participants.