Reuters Company News
Chip equipment orders rise for fifth straight month
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 16 (Reuters) - North American makers of semiconductor equipment recorded an increase in orders for the fifth consecutive month, giving further credence to the belief that the semiconductor slump is officially over, according to an industry report released on Thursday.
The group, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, said April orders were $982 million, up 17 percent from revised March order data. Shipments -- which can occur several months after orders are taken -- rose 3 percent to $822 million.
Orders, the group said, may have been artificially high because April is the final month of the fiscal second quarter of Applied Materials, the dominant industry player. Many chip equipment companies bring in the most orders in the last month of the quarter.
"While the jump in April's numbers likely reflect an end-of-quarter uptick in bookings, the fact that we have seen bookings improve for five consecutive months is a promising sign that the market for semiconductor equipment is beginning to recover from the downturn of 2001," said SEMI Chief Executive Stanley Myers.
The April data represent a book-to-bill ratio of 1.20, meaning that $120 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of products shipped. A ratio of above 1.0 suggests the industry may be strengthening.
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