IPC Survey Shows More PCBs Shipping

March 3, 2011

The industry association for connecting electronic devices, IPC, reported that North American shipments of rigid printed circuit boards (PCBs) rose slightly (3.7 percent) for January with a slight increase of 0.97 percent in the book-to-bill ratio for the month compared to the same time period for the previous year. Flexible circuit shipments in January 2011 were up 10.7 percent while bookings were up 5.3 percent compared to January 2010. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio climbed above parity to 1.01.

According to IPC President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Denny McGuirk, "The good news is that sales in both segments are still ahead of the same month last year and the numbers look stable." About 26 percent of sales reported to the IPC survey were for military customers, with about 24 percent of rigid circuits for military use and about 46 percent of flexible circuits for military customers.

About the Author

Jack Browne

Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.