Semiconductor Equipment Makers' January 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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