B-to-B drops below 1

Oct. 21, 2002
OCTOBER 21--The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $823 million in orders in September and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.84, according to the latest Express Report by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI;www.semi.org).

OCTOBER 21--The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $823 million in orders in September and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.84, according to the latest Express Report by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI;www.semi.org). A book-to-bill of 0.84 means that $84 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in September was $823 million. The bookings figure is 19% below the revised August level of $1.02 billion yet 34% above the $614 million in orders posted in September 2001. The three-month average of worldwide billings in September was $985 million. The billings figure is 1% below the revised August level of $995 million and 2.5% above the September 2001 billings level of $961 million.

"Announcements of lower bookings previously reported by semiconductor capital-equipment manufacturers are now being reflected in the SEMI data," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "As has been the case across the technology sector, the persistence of poor forward visibility continues to hamper the ability to forecast the timing of the next up cycle in capital spending."

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