North American semiconductor equipment industry posts Oct. 2011 book-to-bill ratio of 0.74

SAN JOSE, USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $939.4 million in orders in October 2011 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.74, according to the October Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.74 means that $74 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in October 2011 was $939.4 million. The bookings figure is 1.4 percent more than the final September 2011 level of $926.5 million, and is 41.1 percent below the $1.59 billion in orders posted in October 2010.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in October 2011 was $1.27 billion. The billings figure is 3.6 percent less than the final September 2011 level of $1.31 billion, and is 22.0 percent less than the October 2010 billings level of $1.62 billion.

“The recent period’s billings and bookings reflect the slowing capital investment in the industry that has been evident throughout the year,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. “While overall spending has declined, investments in NAND Flash, sub-30nm technology, and system LSI are on-going.”