Carl, whether it makes any sense or not, it seems to me some semi-cap stocks are moving in concert w/AMAT. BTW, here's the latest B-to-B from BW:
BW0143 AUG 15,1997 18:18 PACIFIC 21:18 EASTERN
( BW)(SEMI) North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts
July 1997 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 1.13
Business Editors/Computer Writers
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 1997--The North
American semiconductor equipment industry posted a book-to-bill ratio
of 1.13 for July 1997, it was reported by Semiconductor Equipment and
Materials International (SEMI).
A book-to-bill of 1.13 means $113 in orders were received for
each $100 worth of products shipped.
Three-month average shipments increased in July to $1.5 billion,
6.3 percent above the June 1997 figure. The shipment levels for
equipment are 11.2 percent above the July 1996 level.
Total equipment order input also increased in July to $1.65
billion, with three-month average bookings rising 12 percent above
June 1997 levels. This was the fifth straight monthly advance in
orders, which are 66 percent above the July 1996 level.
"As the semiconductor equipment industry enters the third
quarter, it continues its rebound from the doldrums of July 1996,"
said Dick Greene, principal analyst for SEMI. "Aggressive movement
into next-generation technologies seems to be a prime driver behind
the steadily increasing orders of the last several months."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving average
bookings to three-month moving average shipments. Shipments and
bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
-0-
*T
Month Shipments Bookings Book-to-Bill
February 97 1,029.0 1,100.9 1.07
March 97 1,101.6 1,264.7 1.15
April 97 1,260.5 1,385.7 1.10
May 97 1,299.4 1,421.0 1.09
June 97 1,372.0 1,471.2 1.07
(revised)
July 97 1,457.9 1,647.3 1.13
(preliminary)
*T
-0-
The data contained in this release was compiled by the
independent public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen LLP, without
audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. Arthur
Andersen LLP can assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the
underlying data.
The data are contained in a monthly Express Report published by
SEMI that tracks shipments and orders for equipment used to
manufacture semiconductor devices, not shipments and orders of the
chips themselves.
Based in Mountain View, Calif., SEMI is an international trade
association serving more than 2,000 companies participating in the
$55 billion semiconductor and flat panel display equipment and
materials markets. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing,
Boston, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and
Washington, D.C. Visit SEMI OnLine at semi.org .
--30--rab/sf* ba/sf
CONTACT: SEMI
Lisa Anderson, 415/940-6918
landerson@semi.org
or
Mathews & Clark
Walter Mathews, 408/736-1120
wmathews@mathewsandclark.com |
