NAZ --> R I P --> TTTIIIMMMBBBEEERRR !!! -->
Semi Equip Book/Bill : Perhaps the most vivid depiction of the semi equipment sector's woes can be seen in this string of orders numbers: Dec $2.37B, Jan $1.85B, Feb $1.61B, Mar $1.20B, Apr $723, May $704M. That's a 70% decline in just five months, and as of May, orders were still falling.
Semi Equip Book/Bill : North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted a book-to-bill ratio of 0.46 in May 2001, below a 0.54 mean of three estimates. This represented a slight improvment from 0.44 in April (revised from 0.42). The CEO of SEMI (which collects the data) noted that while the book/bill rose, both orders and shipments fell again, and he says that sustained year/year improvement is probably 3-4 quarters away. |
