Brian: Thanks for the Book to Bill. More info:
North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Shipments And Bookings Continue
Upward Trend For Ninth Straight Month November 1997 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 0.99
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., December 18, 1997 -- The North American semiconductor
equipment industry posted a book-to-bill ratio of 0.99 for November 1997, it was reported by
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). This is the ninth-straight month
orders and shipments have advanced. A book-to-bill of 0.99 means $99 in orders were received
for each $100 worth of products shipped.
Three-month average shipments increased in November 1997 to $1.9 billion. The figure is nine
percent above the October 1997 level and 80 percent above the November 1996. Three-month
average bookings increased in November 1997 to $1.9 billion. The bookings figure increased five
percent above the October 1997 level and is 98 percent above the November 1996 level.
"This is the ninth straight month shipments and bookings have increased," said Dick Greene,
principal analyst for SEMI. "In November, the orders were the highest they have been for 1997.
The reason the ratio is lower is because the shipments grew at a faster rate than did the orders.
This is why it is important to analyze the "numbers behind the numbers." Even with the current
environment of DRAM pricing pressures and the financial concerns in the Pacific Rim, the industry
continues to grow at a healthy level."
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.
Month
Shipments
Bookings
Book-to-Bill
June 97
1,374.6
1,474.3
1.07
July 97
1,475.8
1,658.7
1.12
August 97
1,535.7
1,688.1
1.10
September 97 (final)
1,672.1
1,773.8
1.06
October 97 (revised)
1,757.6
1,797.4
1.02
November 97 (prelim.)
1,913.7
1,886.5
0.99
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
2,100 companies participating in the $65 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 www.semi.org.
More detail is available to Executive Market Data Service subscribers including value of shipments
and orders and data by equipment type. Find more information on how you can subscribe to this
report. |
