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Equipment book-to-bill ratio trend up slightly
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The final book-to-bill ratio in December for North America-based
semiconductor equipment suppliers was 0.85, down from the preliminary
figures issued last month of 0.89, according to SEMI. The book-to-bill
ratio for January was 0.89.
“Orders remain below levels reported in early 2007 and are
consistent with the reduction in capital spending announced by many
device manufacturers,” said Stanley T. Myers, President and CEO of
SEMI. “While new capacity will be added this year, the industry appears
cautious about new investments in the near term.”
The
three-month bookings average (worldwide) in January 2008 was $1.12
billion - approximately three percent less than the final December 2007
level of $1.16 billion and 22 percent less than the $1.45 billion in
orders posted in January 2007.
The three-month average of
worldwide billings in January 2008 was $1.27 billion. The billings
figure is about seven percent less than the final December 2007 level
of $1.36 billion and about twelve percent less than the January 2007
billings level of $1.45 billion.
Having reached a low of 0.79 in
September 2007, the trend has been moving up since, despite the
expectation that capital spending will be down by as much as 15 percent
for 2008. However, with CapEx spending currently expected to be
first-half-year loaded, the book-to-bill ratio is expected to decline
in the second half of the year, according to market analysts.
