Semicon book-to-bill ratio 0.79 in May

SAN JOSE, USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.03 billion in orders in May 2008 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.79 according to the May 2008 Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.79 means that $79 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in May 2008 was $1.03 billion. The bookings figure is about 5 percent less than the final April 2008 level of $1.09 billion, and about 37 percent less than the $1.64 billion in orders posted in May 2007.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in May 2008 was $1.31 billion. The billings figure is about two percent less than the final April 2008 level of $1.34 billion, and about 21 percent less than the May 2007 billings level of $1.67 billion.

"Booking are approaching levels observed in 2005, which was the last time the semiconductor industry reported a year-over-year decline,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “The data does not indicate a change in this trend over the next quarter."

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.