BANNOCKBURN, IL – January rigid PCB bookings were up 13.7%, and shipments were up 5.6% year-over-year, IPC reported today.

The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry declined slightly to 0.97, a typical first-of-the-year occurrence, says the association.

Flexible circuit shipments in January were down 17.9%, while bookings were down 20.9% year-over-year. The North American flexible circuit book-to-bill ratio declined to 0.96.

For rigid and flex PCBs combined, industry shipments increased 4% compared to the same period last year, and orders booked were up 10.9%. The combined industry book-to-bill ratio was 0.97.

"The rigid PCB segment showed strong year-over-year growth in January, which is encouraging," said Denny McGuirk, IPC’s president. "Orders have lagged shipments in both segments of the PCB industry for the past two months, causing book-to-bill ratios to dip slightly below parity, but this should not raise concerns. January is typically a slow month for the industry, and monthly fluctuations like this are normal," he added.