IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries® announced today the December findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program.

Rigid PCB shipments declined 3.4%, but bookings were up 27.3% in December 2009 from December 2008. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments were down 23.2% and bookings fell by 18.1%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 13.2% and rigid bookings increased 23.3%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in December 2009 registered 1.05.



Flexible circuit shipments in December 2009 went down 0.4% and bookings decreased 27.4% compared to December 2008. Year to date, flexible circuit shipments were down 1.1% and bookings were down 4.9%. Compared to the previous month, flexible circuit shipments went up 4.9% and flex bookings fell by 2.9%. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio in December 2009 slipped back to 0.95.



For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in December 2009 decreased 3.2% from December 2008, and orders booked increased 22.1% from December 2008. Year to date, combined industry shipments were down 21.7% and bookings were down 17.2%. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for December 2009 increased 12.6% and bookings went up 21.5%. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in December 2009 dipped but remained positive at 1.04.