May 20, 2005 – North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1 billion in orders in April 2005 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.80, according to SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.80 means that $80 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in April 2005 was $1 billion. The bookings figure is 1.5% above the revised March 2005 level of $988.4 million and 37% below the $1.58 billion in orders posted in April 2004.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in April 2005 was $1.25 billion. The billings figure is 1.6% below the revised March 2005 level of $1.27 billion and 10% below the April 2004 billings level of $1.39 billion.

“A minor decrease in billings and a commensurate increase in bookings slightly raises the book-to-bill ratio,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “However, we are in a stasis period, where we have yet to see a significant change in business for North American based providers of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment.”