Chip orders rise for May

JUNE 24--Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI; San Jose, CA; www.semi.org) reports that the May 2002 book-to-bill ratio of worldwide semiconductor-manufacturing-equipment sales climbed to 1.06. This ratio means that manufacturers of semiconductor equipment received $126 of new orders for every $100 of orders shipped.

The May 2002 three-month average of worldwide bookings was $1.08 billion and 9% above the revised April 2002 level of $996 million and 50% above the $723 million in orders of May 2001. Worldwide three-month billings averaged $862 million in May 2002, about 6% below the revised April 2002 level of $815 million and 41% below the May 2001 billings level of $1.46 billion.

"For the second month in a row, bookings have shown positive year-over-year growth and, for the first time since March 2001, average bookings have reached above the billion-dollar mark," says Stanley Myers, SEMI president and chief executive officer. "Recent forecasts showing expectations of low, single-digit growth for the chip market in 2002 suggest we will see continued sequential improvement in semiconductor capital spending with a more robust market anticipated in late 2002 or early 2003."