North American semiconductor equipment industry posts Nov. 2012 book-to-bill ratio of 0.79

USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $720.4 million in orders worldwide in November 2012 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.79, according to the November Book-to-Bill Report published today 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 November 2012 was $720.4 million. The bookings figure is 3.0 percent lower than the revised October 2012 level of $742.8 million, and is 26.3 percent lower than the November 2011 order level of $977.2 million.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in November 2012 was $911.9 million. The billings figure is 7.5 percent lower than the revised October 2012 level of $985.5 million, and is 22.5 percent less than the November 2011 billings level of $1.18 billion.

"Economic headwinds, higher chip inventory levels, and soft PC demand are among the factors tempering chip makers’ investment in additional manufacturing capacity," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. "Softening in the market for new semiconductor manufacturing equipment has persisted through the second half of 2012 and the November equipment billings are at a three-year low."