North American EMS industry up 10%

Industry association IPC announced its January 2023 findings from its North American Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Statistical Program – indicating that the book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.35. Total North American EMS shipments in January 2023 were up 10.1 percent compared to the same month last year.

Compared to the preceding month, January shipments decreased 3.7 percent, according to the IPC. EMS bookings in January decreased 4.8 percent year-over-year and increased 1.0 percent from the previous month.

“EMS sector throughput remains on solid footing, but both orders and shipments are showing some downward pressure likely related to weakening macroeconomic fundamentals,” said Shawn DuBravac, IPC’s chief economist.

Detailed data available

Companies that participate in IPC’s North American EMS Statistical Program have access to detailed findings on EMS sales growth by type of production and company size tier, order growth and backlogs by company size tier, vertical market growth, the EMS book-to-bill ratio, 3-month and 12-month sales outlooks, and other timely data.

Interpreting the data

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 companies in IPC’s 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 three to twelve months. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the reverse.