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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey D who wrote (3798)	10/30/2002 5:09:56 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Japan Sep Chip-Making Equip Orders Up 104%; B/B Ratio Down Wednesday October 30, 3:15 am ET TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Global orders for Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment jumped 104.3% in September from a year earlier to Y88.53 billion for the seventh straight month of gains, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said Wednesday. But the book-to-bill ratio for Japanese equipment, computed as a three-month moving average, dropped to 0.88 in September from 1.21 in August - falling below the key 1.00-mark for the first time in six months. This means new orders are shrinking relative to actual shipments, undermining the strong September data and casting doubt on the outlook for demand. Uncertainties are growing over the crucial Christmas shopping season, with more in the industry voicing skepticism over any a strong pickup in demand for such key products as personal computers and mobile phone handsets. Earlier this month, the world's leading chip maker Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - News) of the U.S. lowered its capital spending estimate for the year. The book-to-bill ratio topped the key 1.00-mark in April for the first time since January 2001. A book-to-bill ratio of 0.88 means that Y88 of new orders were received for every Y100 of products billed for the month. The book-to-bill ratio stood at 1.61 in July and 1.92 in June, according to SEAJ. Orders have been brisk since earlier this year, as semiconductor makers, particularly in Asia, are increasing capital spending in line with an upturn in global chip demand from late last year. In March, global orders for Japanese chip manufacturing equipment rose on year for the first time in 15 months. In month-on-month terms, global orders for Japanese chip manufacturing equipment in September rose 46.9%. In the domestic market, September orders for chip-making equipment made by both Japanese and foreign companies climbed 58.5% from a year ago to Y50.13 billion. The domestic orders represent a 61.3% increase from August. Meanwhile, worldwide sales of Japanese-made semiconductor production equipment grew 17.8% in September from a year ago to Y133.00 billion. This is the first on-year gain since April 2001, SEAJ said. Domestic sales of chip-making equipment made by both Japanese and foreign companies edged up 1.7% on year to Y58.71 billion in the month, marking the first increase since May 2001, the association said. Japanese makers are prominent global suppliers of chip production equipment. Six Japanese companies ranked among the world's top 10 chip-making equipment makers in 2001, including Tokyo Electron Ltd. (J.TKE or 8035), Nikon Corp. ( J.NIK or 7731) and Advantest Corp. (J.ADV or 6857).