December 21, 2005 – North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.09 billion in orders in November 2005 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.92, according to SEMI’s November 2005 Book-to-Bill Report. A book-to-bill of 0.92 means that $92 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in November 2005 was $1.09 billion. The bookings figure is about even with the final October 2005 level of $1.09 billion and 18% below the $1.33 billion in orders posted in November 2004.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in November 2005 was $1.18 billion. The billings figure is 3% above the final October 2005 level of $1.15 billion and 12% below the November 2004 billings level of $1.34 billion.

“Bookings for North American-based semiconductor equipment providers continue to show stability, with signs of some improvement over the previous quarter,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “The well-managed spending cycle throughout 2005 has been encouraging and the equipment market is positioned for growth in 2006.”

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. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of US dollars.