Mike, some excellent set of number to get excited about. -g- How do
you like a 32% drop in orders?
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 1998--The North
American semiconductor equipment industry posted a book-to-bill ratio
of 0.74 for June 1998, it was reported by Semiconductor Equipment and
Materials International (SEMI).
A book-to-bill of 0.74 means $74 in orders were received for
each $100 worth of products shipped.
Three-month average shipments in June 1998 were $1.2 billion.
The figure is nine percent below the May 1998 level, and is about
even with the June 1997 level. Three-month average bookings decreased
in June 1998 to $911 million. The bookings figure is 16 percent below
the May 1998 level, and 32 percent below the June 1997 level.
"Contrary to everyone's hopes, May 1998 was not the bottom of
the downturn cycle, although shipments were essentially equal to
those of a year ago," said Dick Greene, principal analyst with SEMI.
"The continued decline in orders and shipments seems to echo much of
the industry news reported last week during SEMICON West."
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
January 98 1,458.0 1,363.6 0.94
February 98 1,369.1 1,233.5 0.90
March 98 1,370.3 1,123.1 0.82
April 98 (final) 1,416.3 1,102.1 0.78
May 98 (revised) 1,347.4 1,084.9 0.81
June 98 (preliminary) 1,225.8 911.4 0.74 *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. SEMI and 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, SEMI is an international trade association
serving more than 2,200 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. |
