The ZVEI (Central Association of the German Electrical and Electronics Industry ) trade association PCB and Electronic Systems reported that in March 2010 total sales for printed circuit board manufacturers in Germany were up 16.7 percent on the previous month. Compared with March 2009 this was an increase of 43.5 percent. The sales growth is also evident on a quarterly basis: in the first quarter of 2010 a 29 percent increase in sales was achieved compared with the same period of the previous year.
New orders in February 2010 were exceeded by 19 percent the following month. This number of new orders was last achieved in 2000 and is 25 percent above the average of the last ten years. The first quarter ended with a plus of 113 percent compared with the previous year. The companies are very busy. Delivery times have already risen sharply which is a result of the capacity and personnel adjustments of the previous year. As of the third quarter of 2010 - the main production time for printed circuit boards - there may also be a shortage of materials according to the industry association, in particular of laminates.
The book-to-bill ratio as trend indicator has been above one for nine months and since the beginning of the year has maintained an approximate value of 1.29. As a result of the ever-increasing demand companies have started to take on staff again.
The number of employees in March 2010 increased by 1.5 percent compared with the previous month. However, this was still 4.2 percent less than the number in March 2009. By introducing reduced working hours many companies have been able to retain qualified staff. This has meant that the number of new appointments has been less than the sales growth. If demand continues to be strong a further increase in the number of personnel is to be expected in the coming months.
