Jan. 09 book-to-bill ratio 0.48 lowest since 1991!

SAN JOSE, USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $285.6 million in orders in January 2009 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.48 according to the January 2009 Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.48 means that $48 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in January 2009 was $285.6 million. The bookings figure is about 51 percent less than the final December 2008 level of $579.1 million, and about 75 percent less than the $1.14 billion in orders posted in January 2008.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in January 2009 was $592.2 million. The billings figure is about 12 percent less than the final December 2008 level of $672.4 million, and about 54 percent less than the January 2008 billings level of $1.28 billion.

“Sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment continue to decline, exacerbated by the diminished demand for consumer electronics, and the global economic turmoil.” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “As a result, bookings are at the lowest levels since 1991.”

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.