Economy is BOOMING...LOL!!! NOT!!
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By Jason Margolis, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:02 PM ET May 22, 2001
SAN JOSE, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- The semiconductor industry was hit by more bad news on Tuesday, as the April figures painted a grim picture for the North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment.
The April book-to-bill ratio -- a three-month moving average -- reached a low point for the past decade, according to a report published after the closing bell on Tuesday by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International.
The April book-to-bill ratio was 0.42, meaning that $42 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product shipped. By comparison, the ratio was 0.59 in March and 1.12 in Nov. 2000.
"The severity and depth of this industry correction is unprecedented," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI, in a statement. Myers blamed cancellations for the sharp decline as chip manufacturers have made adjustments to bring capacity and inventory in line with demand.
There were $711.8 million in new orders, which is 74 percent below the $2.72 billion in orders posted in April 2000 and a 41 percent drop below the March figure.
Shipments were $1.68 billion, a 15 percent increase over April 2000 shipments totaling $1.99 billion but 17 percent below the revised March figure.
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) fell 1.6 percent to close at 694.74. By comparison, the index hit an intraday low of 453.85 in April and reached a high of 1,362.10 back in March 2000.
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Jason Margolis is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco. |
