Apr 30, 2003
IMS/PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio
The U.S. IMS/PCB Industry Book-to-Bill Ratio for March 2003 was 1.04. Sales billed (shipments) in March 2003 decreased 29.2 percent from March 2002 and orders booked decreased 25.7 percent from March 2002.
Compared to 2002, bookings of PCBs are down 19.8 percent year-to-date, while shipments of PCBs are down 24.6 percent year-to-date.
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.
IMS/PCB Business Report
The IMS/PCB Business Report, an IPC statistical report that tracks the dynamics of the U.S. IMS industry, reported the IMS/PCB shipment index was 107.4 and the IMS/PCB booking index was 109.3 for March 2003.
The IPC IMS/PCB shipment index in March 2003 increased 4.2 percent from 103.0 in February 2003, and the IPC IMS/PCB booking index in March 2003 increased 7.8 percent from 101.4 in February 2003.
The index shows how current PCB shipments and bookings relate to an index point. (In this case, 1992 was chosen as the index point because it was a stable growth year for U.S. PCB manufacturers.) A shipment index number of 117.0 indicates that shipments are 17 percent higher than average shipments for the same time period in 1992.
The indices are calculated by setting the base year (1992) equal to 100 and then multiplying the monthly growth rates of the actual shipments and bookings by the corresponding index number.
The information in IPC�s monthly industry statistics is based on data provided by both rigid and flexible PCB manufacturers that participate in IPC�s monthly IMS Statistical Program. These companies represent 60 percent of the U.S. domestic IMS market. IPC publishes the IMS Book-to-Bill Ratio and the IMS Business Report each month. (Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.)
For more information, contact IPC Director of Market Research Jeff Morton at JeffMorton@ipc.org or 847-790-5317.
About IPC
IPC is a Northbrook, Ill.-based trade association dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its more than 2,300 member companies, which represent all facets of the electronic interconnection industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of a $40 billion U.S. industry employing more than 350,000 people. IPC maintains offices in Taos, N.M.; Washington, D.C.; Garden Grove, Calif.; and Shanghai, China. For more information, visit http://www.ipc.org.
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