To all, from BW,
BW0262 JAN 16,1997 17:14 PACIFIC 20:14 EASTERN
( BW)(SEMI) North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts
December 1996 Book-To-Bill Ratio of 1.02; Book-To-Bill Statistic
Above 1.00 for First Time Since April 1996
Business Editors/Computer Writers
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 1997--The North
American semiconductor equipment industry posted a book-to-bill ratio
of 1.02 for December 1996, compared with the revised ratio of 0.90
for November 1996, it was reported by Semiconductor Equipment and
Materials International (SEMI). A book-to-bill of 1.02 means $102 in
orders were received for each $100 worth of products shipped.
Total semiconductor orders in December rose 11 percent over the
prior month, to $1.04 billion. It was the first month since June
that monthly bookings topped $1 billion. December 1996 bookings were
19.5 percent below the same month in 1995.
Total semiconductor equipment shipped by North American suppliers
dropped to $1.02 billion, about three percent below the November
level. December shipments were 17 percent below 1995 levels.
"The December 1996 ratio rose mainly on the strength of test,
assembly and packaging orders logged during the month," said
Elizabeth Schumann, senior market analyst for SEMI. "Semiconductor
equipment orders had been trending up over the past couple of months,
encouraged by rising strength in the semiconductor industry.
Shipments, however, had been trending down, primarily because of
lengthy lead times and backlog management on the part of the
equipment companies. These two trends have resulted in a steady
improvement in the equipment book-to-bill statistic."
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 three-month moving averages in U.S. dollars in
millions.
-0-
*T
Month Shipments Bookings Book-to-Bill
July 96 1,310.8 991.8 0.76
August 96 1,248.3 881.9 0.71
September 96 1,118.7 777.8 0.70
October 96 1,072.4 832.9 0.78
November 96 (revised) 1,047.0 937.2 0.90
December 96 (prelim.) 1,019.3 1,041.8 1.02
*T
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 1,850 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.
--30--eh/sf* dc/sf
CONTACT: SEMI
Lisa Anderson, 415/940-6918
landerson@semi.org
or
Mathews & Clark
Walter Mathews, 408/736-1120
mathwsclrk@aol.com |
