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To: Xpiderman who wrote (2184)	4/20/1999 11:41:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3813

On the surface sounds great XY! Story below. Funny I tried to verify earlier today when this report would be released and couldn't come up with anything. sf ======================================================= Press Room - Book-to-Bill North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Bookings Up 14 Percent in March 1999 Semiconductor Equipment Book-to-Bill Ratio of 1.30; Bookings Up 139 Percent Since September '98 MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 20, 1999 -- Reflecting the steady recovery of the chip equipment market, North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted a 14 percent increase in worldwide bookings for March 1999 to $1.15 billion, it was reported by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). The North American semiconductor equipment industry posted a book-to-bill ratio of 1.30 for March 1999. A book-to-bill of 1.30 means $130 in orders were received for each $100 worth of products shipped. "This is encouraging news," said Stanley Myers, president of SEMI. "First quarter orders have been stronger than expected and the bookings for March are up 139 percent from bottom of the cycle in September 1998. Reports coming out of Asia seem to suggest that the economies there are recovering sooner than expected and IC manufacturers, especially in Korea and Taiwan, are starting to order." Three-month average shipments in March 1999 were $887 million. The figure is six percent above the February 1999 level, and is 35 percent below the March 1998 level of $1.4 billion. Three-month average bookings increased in March 1999 to $1.15 billion. The bookings figure is 14 percent above February 1999 and is two percent above the March 1998 level of $1.1 billion. 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 October 98 852.3 638.0 0.75 November 98 913.6 767.2 0.84 December 98 920.9 883.4 0.96 January 99 (final) 890.0 996.7 1.12 February 99 (revised) 835.1 1013.7 1.21 March 99 (preliminary) 886.6 1151.0 1.30 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. SEMI and 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 2,300 companies participating in the $65 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. Visit SEMI OnLine at www.semi.org. semi.org