- 23 February 2005 -

Semi's book to bill at 0.80

North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.01bn in orders in January 2005 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.80. The bookings figure is 18% below the revised December 2004 level of $1.24bn and 18% below the $1.23bn orders posted in January 2004.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in January 2005 was $1.27bn. The billings figure is 4% below the revised December 2004 level of $1.32bn and 23% above the January 2004 billings level of $1.03bn.

"The three-month average bookings figure for new semiconductor equipment is now at the lowest level since November 2003," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Total bookings declined sharply in January and are now about 37% below the cyclic peak observed in June 2004."