Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Continuing a statistical rebound reflected for the first time last month, North American-based semiconductor equipment suppliers continued to see orders rise in December, as orders and shipments neared parity.
The ratio of orders to shipments reached 0.98 in December 2002, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). SEMI today released its December book-to-bill numbers, a three-month rolling average of orders and shipments for North American tool vendors. A book-to-bill ratio of 1 or better is considered a healthy indicator.
Equipment makers received $839 million in orders in December, according to preliminary figures from SEMI. That is 8 percent above the revised November level of $777 million and 37 percent above the $614 million in orders posted in December 2001.
November marked the first time in four months that orders didn't decline for North American semi equipment vendors.
Meanwhile shipments continued to drop in December to $853 million, declining 13 percent from the revised November figure of $976 million. That is 5 percent above the December 2001 billings level of $810 million.
"The increased bookings level suggests further capital equipment market stabilization," Stan Myers, SEMI president and CEO, said in a statement. "While the bookings figure is well below the peak levels n 2002, the bookings and billings figures are nearing parity, which is seen as a positive trend."
Globally, the equipment orders and shipments ratio reached parity in December, according to figures released by VLSI Research Inc. last week.
By: DocMemory
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