North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts November 2012 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 0.79

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- December 18, 2012 -- North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $720.4 million in orders worldwide in November 2012 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.79, according to the November Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.  A book-to-bill of 0.79 means that $79 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in November 2012 was $720.4 million. The bookings figure is 3.0 percent lower than the revised October 2012 level of $742.8 million, and is 26.3 percent lower than the November 2011 order level of $977.2 million.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in November 2012 was $911.9 million. The billings figure is 7.5 percent lower than the revised October 2012 level of $985.5 million, and is 22.5 percent less than the November 2011 billings level of $1.18 billion.

“Economic headwinds, higher chip inventory levels, and soft PC demand are among the factors tempering chip makers’ investment in additional manufacturing capacity,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.  “Softening in the market for new semiconductor manufacturing equipment has persisted through the second half of 2012 and the November equipment billings are at a three-year low.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

Source: SEMI, December 2012

The data contained in this release were compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.

The data are contained in a monthly Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. The report tracks billings and bookings worldwide of North American-headquartered manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not billings and bookings of the chips themselves. The Book-to-Bill report is one of three reports included with the Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS).

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and micro-electronic manufacturing supply chains. Our 2,000 member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Beijing, Bengaluru, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org.


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