PCB shipments in summer slump.

Rigid PCB shipments among North American fabricators fell 10.7% and bookings dropped 9.8% percent in June, IPC said today. However, rigid shipments were up 12.3% and bookings rose 20.8% sequentially. The book-to-bill ratio for the rigid PCB industry in June 2007 climbed back up above parity to 1.01. Flex circuit shipments fell 14.1% and bookings nosedived 37.8% versus last year. Shipments were up 4.5% over May, but bookings dropped 3.4%. The flex circuit book-to-bill ratio was positive at 1.12. The book-to-bill ratios are calculated by dividing the value of orders booked over the past three months by the value of sales billed during the same period from the companies in IPC's survey sample. A book-to-bill ratio above 1.0 is considered a sign of future growth. About 16% of the reported value was comprised of boards made offshore and distributed by North American fabricators. For the year, combined (rigid and flex) shipments are down 10.4% and bookings are down 14.9%. Rigid shipments are down 10.9% and bookings are down 16.3%. Flex shipments are down 2.3% and bookings are up 7.3%. Shipments of all board types dropped 11% in June and orders fell 12.2%.The combined book-to-bill was 1.01.