Where does WFR fit in int he equation. Will they remain a low-quality low-price supplier or will things change?
Will quality hold them back?
Probably not wording this correctly.
Another article on semicondutors, I cut out this paragraph.Does WFR fit in?
Oversupply had led chip makers to slash new equipment spending, but analysts believe the slowdown in orders hit bottom
in the third quarter of 1998 and has begun to track upwards since then.
canoe.com
Semiconductor equipment makers' Jan. orders surge
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (Reuters) - The pace of new orders quickened for the North American semiconductor equipment
industry in January, which posted a book-to-bill ratio of 1.10, the industry's trade association said.
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) said in a statement that $110 in orders were received for
each $100 worth of products shipped by makers of computer chip equipment, which are seeing the end of a long cyclical
downturn.
By contrast, the ratio of new bookings to billings stood at 0.97 in December, O.84 in November and 0.57 in August.
In a research note, CS First Boston analyst Kathyrn Buergert said Friday that the more than 10 percent rise in January
bookings is "adding to backlogs for the first time since November 1997.
The industry has been caught short by a glut of excess manufacturing capacity in the semiconductor industry -- its customer
base -- during a downturn that has spread over the last several years.
Oversupply had led chip makers to slash new equipment spending, but analysts believe the slowdown in orders hit bottom
in the third quarter of 1998 and has begun to track upwards since then.
The turnaround in orders has buoyed confidence that revenues and earnings will once again gain ground in 1999.
"This is the fourth month of sequentially greater order levels," Stanley Myers, president of SEMI said. "Continuing
improvement in semiconductor equipment booking figures conveys further optimism for the equipment industry," he said.
Three-month average shipments in January 1999 were $868 million. The figure is 3 percent below the December 1998
level, and is 41 percent below the January 1998 level. Three-month average bookings increased in January 1999 to $958
million. The bookings figure is 10 percent above the December 1998 level, but is 30 percent below the January 1998 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
August 98 1,011.8 571.6 0.57
September 98 845.7 481.3 0.57
October 98 852.3 638.0 0.75
November 98 (final) 931.6 767.2 0.84
December 98 (revised) 895.2 869.2 0.97
January 99 (preliminary) 868.0 957.7 1.10
Mountain View, Calif.-based SEMI is an international trade association serving more than 2,300 companies participating in
the $65 billion semiconductor and flat panel display equipment and materials markets.
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