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 -- Electronic News, 7/18/2008

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 level of $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.”