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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (526935)	1/20/2004 11:35:56 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 769667

NORTH AMERICAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY POSTS DECEMBER 2003 BOOK-TO-BILL RATIO OF 1.20 SAN JOSE, Calif., January 20, 2004 -- North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.1 billion in orders in December 2003 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.20, according to the December 2003 Express Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 1.20 means that $120 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2003 was $1.1 billion. The bookings figure is 19 percent above the revised November 2003 level of $923 million and 33 percent above the $827 million in orders posted in December 2002. The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2003 was $918 million. The billings figure is five percent above the revised November 2003 level of $876 million and five percent above the December 2002 billings level of $878 million. "The December data support the positive outlook for strong growth in semiconductor capital investment this year," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Analysts presenting at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium this month were in agreement that 2004 is shaping up to be a double-digit growth year for the global semiconductor equipment industry." The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving average bookings to three-month moving average billings for the North American semiconductor equipment industry. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars. Billings (Three-month avg.) Bookings (Three-month avg.) Book-to-Bill July 2003 785.9 706.9 0.90 August 2003 792.3 731.8 0.92 September 2003 811.1 778.8 0.96 October 2003 866.5 871.0 1.01 November 2003 (final) 876.4 923.3 1.05 December 2003 (prelim.) 917.6 1,100.3 1.20 The data contained in this release was compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. 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 billings and orders worldwide of North American-based manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not billings and orders of the chips themselves. Please note that the January 2004 Express Report, previously scheduled for publication on February 18, is currently scheduled distribution on February 19, 2004 (subject to change). Please consult the “News and Resources” page at semi.org for additional updates. SEMI is a global industry association serving more than 2,500 companies that develop and provide manufacturing technology and materials to the global semiconductor, flat panel display, MEMS and related microelectronics industries. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose (Calif.), Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org. INDUSTRY/IR CONTACT: Dan Tracy, Ph.D./SEMI Tel: 1.408.943.7987 E-mail: dtracy@semi.org MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Davis/SEMI Tel: 1.408.943.6937 E-mail: jdavis@semi.org