Book-to-bill reaches 0.99

MARCH 24--The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $782 million in orders in February 2003 and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.99, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI;www.semi.org/). A book-to-bill of 0.99 means that $99 worth of new orders was received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in February was $782 million. The bookings figure is 6% above the revised January level of $739 million and 6% above the $737 million in orders posted in February of last year.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in February was $793 million. The billings figure is 1% above the revised January level of $784 million and 3% below the February 2002 billings level of $818 million.