Worldwide equipment bookings amounted to $4.74 billion in November, 1.8 percent lower than VLSI Research Inc.¡¦s revised order figure of $4.83 billion for October, the firm said.

Worldwide revenues came in at $4.37 billion, 8 percent higher than the $4.04 billion in sales for October. As a result, November¡¦s equipment book to bill ratio was 1.09.

November¡¦s bookings were lower than the revised October figures, but were 36.5 percent higher than November 2004. The slight dip in the November bookings reflects the fact that the equipment industry has been experiencing remarkable order growth since Q3, the firm pointed out.

VLSI also found that October¡¦s bookings were stronger than originally estimated, which resulted in an upward revision to the data, from $4.36 billion to $4.83 billion. October billings remained at $4.04 billion for a revised book to bill ratio of 1.19 from 1.08. While much of the demand is seasonal, VLSI reminded that chip makers are also gearing up for the 65nm ramp.

Front-end capacity utilization softened to 94.8 percent in November as the industry winds down from the seasonal build-up, from 96.8 percent in October. In contrast, test and assembly utilization remained at 98 percent, with back-end utilization not expected to fall below the 90 percent level until well into Q1 2006, the firm said.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm expects the semiconductor equipment book to bill ratio to remain above 1 in December, with bookings of $4.91 billion and billings of $4.85 billion.

By: DocMemory
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