NA semicon equipment industry posts Dec. 2009 book-to-bill ratio of 1.03

SAN JOSE, USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $863.3 million in orders in December 2009 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.03, according to the December 2009 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 1.03 means that $103 worth of orders was received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2009 was $863.3 million. The bookings figure is up 9.0 percent from the final November 2009 level of $791.8 million, and 49.1 percent higher than the $579.1 million in orders posted in December 2008.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2009 was $842.2 million. The billings figure is 13.2 percent greater than the final November 2009 level of $744.2 million, and 25.3 percent more than the December 2008 billings level of $672.4 million.

"Semiconductor capital equipment bookings and billings continued steady growth into December 2009," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The Book-to-Bill ratio has been above parity for six consecutive months as the industry increases spending on technology and fills out capacity to produce semiconductor devices."

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.Source: SEMI January 2010