IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced today the March 2016 findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program. Sales growth accelerated in March and order growth rebounded. Bookings outpaced shipments, but the book-to-bill ratio held steady at 1.02.
Total North American PCB shipments in March 2016 came in at 10.3 percent above the same month last year, bringing the year-to-date growth rate up to 6.1 percent for the first quarter. Compared to the preceding month, March shipments were up 18.6 percent.
PCB bookings in March increased 10.5 percent year-on-year, boosting year-to-date bookings growth for the first quarter to 3.5 percent. Orders in March 2016 were up 28.1 percent from the previous month.
“March was a good month for the North American PCB industry, with strong growth in both sales and orders,” said Sharon Starr, IPC’s director of market research. “This is a welcome change from no growth in 2015,” she added, “and the first quarter’s positive book-to-bill ratios support an expectation of continued growth in the second quarter.”