Despite
high fab capacity utilisation rates, there is no great rush to
order new semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
SEMI, the trade
body for the manufacturers of semiconductor manufacturing
equipment, reports that its US-based membership recorded an October
book-to-bill ratio of 1:10 meaning that $110 worth of orders were
booked for every $100 worth of billings.
If the bookings are more than the billings, it shows the
industry is on a rising trend.
October orders were slightly below September's, with US-based
manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $756.2m worth of
orders in October 2009, down on the September figure of $758.9m and
9.9% less than the $839.7m in orders posted in October 2008.
"The SEMI book-to-bill number has been above 1.0 for four months
now, reflecting small and generally steady increases as the
semiconductor industry continues a slow recovery," says Stan Myers,
president and CEO of SEMI, "bookings in October 2009 have
flattened, and we will continue to watch this number. SEMI
maintains our forecast of a slowly improving capital spending
outlook for the remainder of 2009 and into next year."
Billings have risen all year from $292 in May; $440b in June;
$538m in July; $580m in August; $648m in September; and $690m in
October.
Bookings rose from May to September before slipping back
slightly. May bookings were $288m; June's were $352m; July's were
$572m; August's were $615m; September's were $759m and October's
were $756m.
The book-to-bill rose from May's 0.73 to 0.80 in June, 1.06 in
July and August and 1.17 in September before slipping back to 1.10
in October.
See also:
Mannerisms, the blog of David Manners. Updated twice daily,
it's the distinctive, entertaining, authoritative and never dull
commentary on the semiconductor industry, from someone who knows.
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