North American EMS Orders Outpace Shipments in August as Bookings Rise 53.5% Year-Over-Year

What happened

On October 7, 2026, the Global Electronics Association announced the August 2026 findings from its North American Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Statistical Program: the 3-month book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.39 and the 1-month book-to-bill at 1.33. Total North American EMS shipments in August 2026 were up 1.0% year-over-year, up 5.5% from the preceding month, and August's year-to-date shipments increased by 1.0% YoY. EMS bookings in August increased 53.5% year-over-year and were down 29.2% from the previous month, with August's YTD bookings up 15.5% versus the same period last year. The Association's chief economist, Dr. Shawn DuBravac, said EMS manufacturers are working to fulfill strong order flow that continues to outpace shipments and build a pipeline of future production, but tight availability of certain components and extended supplier lead times may be limiting how quickly some manufacturers can convert orders into deliveries, and securing the materials needed to fulfill those orders remains a challenge. The statistics are based on a representative sample of companies selling in the USA and Canada.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: Electronics Sourcing · 10/7/2026 · View original source