December U.S. PCB Shipments Fell 13%

December PCB shipments fell 12.7 percent from a year ago and new orders dropped 12.2 percent, an industry trade group said today.

The monthly book-to-bill was 0.96. The ratio is calculated by averaging the number of orders booked over the past three months and dividing by the average sales billed during the same period. A ratio of 0.96 means that for every $100 in shipments, $96 worth of PCBs were booked. A ratio under 1.0 is considered an indicator of a market in decline. It was the tenth straight month the market contracted.

For the year, PCB shipments were off 22.8 percent. Orders fell 13.6 percent. The data are compiled by IPC (Northbrook, IL).

The shipment index was 122.8, up 0.2 percent sequentially, and the booking index was 122.2, up 3.4 percent. An index of 122 indicates 2 percent growth over the same period in 1992.

IPC�s monthly statistics are based on data provided by PCB manufacturers that reportedly represent 60 percent of the U.S. PCB market.

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