日前，IPC电子工业连接委员会月PCB统计项目组发布5月北美的PCB统计数据。 PCB产量增长速度和订单交货比 与去年同期相比较，北美刚性PCB出货量下降了14.8%，订单量则下降了12.2％。年度数据看，刚性PCB出货量下降了10.9％，订单量下降了17.7％。同上个月相比较，刚性PCB出货量增加了6.7%,订单量增加了2.1%。总体看，5月份的订单出货比稍低于平衡点，为0.98。有迹象表明，在未来两到三个月中，刚性PCB的销量同2006年同期比仍将有相同的下降率。 与去年同期相比较，北美柔性PCB出货量下降了10.1%，订单量则下降了2.9％。年度数据看，柔性PCB出货量增长了0.7％，订单量增加了23.8％。同上个月相比较，柔性PCB出货量增加了15.7%,订单量下降了0.4%。总体看，5月份的柔性PCB订单出货比继续攀升达到1.32，这表明在未来一段时间内柔性PCB的销量将继续增加。 For rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined, industry shipments in May 2007 decreased 14.5 percent from May 2006 and orders booked decreased 11.2 percent from May 2006. Year to date, combined industry shipments are down 10.3 percent and bookings are down 15.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, combined industry shipments for May 2007 are up 7.2 percent and bookings are up 1.9 percent. The combined (rigid and flex) industry book-to-bill ratio in May 2007 remained just above parity at 1.01. In the rigid PCB segment, book-to-bill ratios are hovering at or slightly under parity, which suggests that this years business is likely to hold steady but remain below last years levels for at least a few more months,said IPC president Denny McGuirk. In the flexible circuit industry, the book-to-bill ratio is still climbing due to recent increases in bookings and generally flat shipment growth. Overall PCB sales in the first five months of 2007 are now about 10 percent below the same period in 2006,he added, which reflects the current economic slowdown.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 IPCs survey sample. A ratio of more than 1.00 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months. Book-to-bill ratios and growth rates for rigid PCBs and flexible circuits combined are heavily affected by the rigid PCB segment. Rigid PCBs represent an estimated 88 percent of the current PCB market in North America, according to IPCs World PCB Production and Laminate Market Report for the Year 2006, which will be published in late July. The Role of Domestic Production IPCs monthly survey of the North American PCB industry tracks bookings and shipments from U.S. and Canadian facilities, which provide indicators of regional demand. These numbers do not measure U.S. and Canadian PCB production. To track regional production trends, however, IPC asks survey participants for the percent of their reported shipments that were produced domestically (i.e., in the USA or Canada). In May 2007, 89 percent of total PCB shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 89 percent of rigid PCB and 96 percent of flexible circuit shipments in May by IPCs survey participants. These numbers are significantly affected by the mix of companies in IPCs survey sample, which remains constant throughout each calendar year, but may change with the January survey results. Bare Circuits Versus Assembly Flexible circuit sales typically include value-added services such as assembly, in addition to the bare flex circuits. In May, the flexible circuit manufacturers in IPCs survey sample indicated that bare circuits accounted for about 80 percent of their shipment value reported for the month. Assembly and other services make up a large and growing segment of flexible circuit producers business. This figure is also sensitive to changes in the survey sample, which may occur at the beginning of each calendar year. Interpreting the Data Year-on-year and year-to-date growth rates provide the most meaningful view of industry growth. Month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects. Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month-to-month may not be significant unless a trend of three consecutive months or more is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio. The information in IPCs monthly PCB industry statistics is based on data provided by a representative sample of both rigid and flexible PCB manufacturers in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the PCB Book-to-Bill Ratio and the Interconnect Manufacturing Services (IMS) Business Report each month. Statistics for the previous month are not available until the last week of the following month.