North American semi equipment industry in June reflects chipmakers' caution in spending
A book-to-bill ratio of 0.85 means that $85 worth of orders was received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- EDN, July 18, 2008
As the industry awaits more clarity in the overall economic condition before increasing capital spending, manufacturers of semiconductor equipment in North America reported $1.03 billion in orders in June on a three-month average, and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.85 according to industry association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) late Thursday.
SEMI reminded that a book-to-bill ratio of 0.85 means that $85 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
In terms of bookings, the three-month average of worldwide bookings in June was $1.03 billion, which is flat with the final May levelof $1.03 billion, and about 36% less than the $1.61 billion in orders posted in June 2007.
In terms of billings, the three-month average of worldwide billings in June was $1.21 billion, which is about 8% less than the final May level of $1.31 billion, and about 31% less than the June 2007 billings level of $1.77 billion.
Daniel Tracy, senior director of industry research and statistics at SEMI commented in a statement, “With a half year of data at hand, bookings for the North American equipment manufacturers are down 27% compared to the same period one year ago.”
| Billings (three-month avg.) |
Bookings (three-month avg.) |
Book-to-Bill | |
| January 2008 | 1,279.3 |
1,141.0 |
0.89 |
| February 2008 | 1,310.8 |
1,205.4 |
0.92 |
| March 2008 | 1,344.9 |
1,165.6 |
0.87 |
| April 2008 | 1,337.3 |
1,090.3 |
0.82 |
| May 2008 (final) | 1,312.6 |
1,030.4 |
0.79 |
| June 2008 (prelim.) | 1,211.9 |
1,029.8 |
0.85 |
Source: SEMI July 2008
