NA semicon equipment industry posts Jan. 2014 book-to-bill ratio of 1.04

SAN JOSE, USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.28 billion in orders worldwide in January 2014 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.04, according to the January EMDS Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI.

A book-to-bill of 1.04 means that $104 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in January 2014 was $1.28 billion. The bookings figure is 7.2 percent lower than the final December 2013 level of $1.38 billion, and is 19.1 percent higher than the January 2013 order level of $1.08 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in January 2014 was $1.24 billion. The billings figure is 8.3 percent lower than the final December 2013 level of $1.35 billion, and is 27.9 percent higher than the January 2013 billings level of $968.0 million.

"Both bookings and billings are at values higher than reported one year ago and are good indications of growth in the 2014 equipment market," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. "Device makers are investing in 20nm technology and advanced device structures, while leading packaging houses focus their investments on flip chip, wafer-level, and 3-D packaging."