SAN FRANCISCO—The three-month rolling average book-to-bill ratio for North American semiconductor manufacturing equipment declined to 1.05 in May, down from 1.10 in April, according to the fab tool vendor trade group SEMI.
May marked the second straight month of book-to-bill decline after six consecutive months of increases, according to SEMI (San Jose, Calif.).
The three-month average of worldwide bookings for North American based fab tool vendors was $1.61 billion in May, up 0.6 percent from April and down 0.7 percent from May 2011. The three-month average of worldwide billings was $1.54 billion i May, up 5.3 percent from April and down 8 percent from May 2011, SEMI said.
"Worldwide orders for new semiconductor equipment from North American based manufacturers have continued to increase over the past year as chip makers add capacity and process technology to meet demand driven by mobile products, smart phones and tablets," said Denny McGuirk, SEMI president and CEO, in a statement. "Bookings are at the highest levels since May 2011 and this is the fourth consecutive month that new orders have outpaced billings."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers.
