The book-to-bill ratio has remained above parity for six consecutive months as December, 2009 figures from SEMI report a book-to-bill ratio of 1.03 on orders of US$863.3 million. However, the ratio peaked in September, 2009 and bookings have yet to recover to seasonal averages, compared to figures produced in 2007, before the downturn took affect.
The bookings figure is up 9.0% from the final November 2009 level of US$791.8 million, and 49.1% higher than the US$579.1 million in orders posted in December 2008, indicating that the recovery remains on-track.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2009 was US$842.2 million. The billings figure increase 13.2% over the final November 2009 level of US$744.2 million, and 25.3% more than the December 2008 billings level of US$672.4 million.
"Semiconductor capital equipment bookings and billings continued steady growth into December 2009," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The Book-to-Bill ratio has been above parity for six consecutive months as the industry increases spending on technology and fills out capacity to produce semiconductor devices."