NA semicon equipment industry book-to-bill ratio 0.83 in October

SAN JOSE, USA: North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.23 billion in orders in October 2007 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83 according to the October 2007 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.83 means that $83 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in October 2007 was $1.23 billion. The bookings figure is flat with the final September 2007 level of $1.24 billion and 16 percent less than the $1.47 billion in orders posted in October 2006.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in October 2007 was $1.49 billion. The billings figure is about four percent less than the final September 2007 level of $1.56 billion and about five percent less than the October 2006 billings level of $1.56 billion.

"Actual sales of new semiconductor equipment have generally followed the bookings trends, which have declined sequentially since the cyclic peak in early summer," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "However, our expectation remains that 2007 equipment revenues will remain comparable to or slightly above 2006 sales."

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of US dollars.