North American EMS industry down 2.7% in December

Total North American EMS shipments in December 2022 were down 2.7% compared to the same month last year. Compared to the preceding month, December shipments increased 5.8%. 

EMS bookings in December decreased 22.7% year-over-year and decreased 2.9% from the previous month.

“The December results provide us with the final 2022 figures – for the year, shipments were up 4.5% while orders were down 3.7%,” said Shawn DuBravac, IPC’s chief economist. “Looking forward, the economic climate is set to deteriorate in the first half of 2023. Despite this, overall industry demand appears to be holding up and backlogs appear health.”

Detailed data available

Companies that participate in IPC’s North American EMS Statistical Programme 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.

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 reflect seasonal effects and short-term volatility.

Because bookings tend to be more volatile than shipments, changes in the book-to-bill ratios from month to month might not be significant unless a trend of more than three consecutive months is apparent. It is also important to consider changes in both bookings and shipments to understand what is driving changes in the book-to-bill ratio.

IPC’s monthly EMS industry statistics are based on data provided by a representative sample of assembly equipment manufacturers selling in the USA and Canada. IPC publishes the EMS book-to-bill ratio by the end of each month.