September 20, 2006 – Orders for semiconductor manufacturing equipment from North American-based suppliers were flat in August compared with the previous month, while sales increased slightly, according to new data from SEMI.

Bookings (a three-month average) totaled $1.73 billion, level with orders in July but nearly 70% higher than August 2005. Equipment billings rose to $1.74 billion, up 6.3% sequentially and 65% year-on-year. The book-to-bill ratio (B:B) fell to even-parity at 1.00, meaning that exactly $100 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. The B:B has remained at or above 1.0 for seven consecutive months.

“Overall, both bookings and billings are trending as expected for the cycle, with 2006 being a strong growth year for the industry,” stated Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI, noting that billings are at their highest level since March 2001.

North American equipment bookings, billings — July 2006

Month……….Billings……….%M-M…..%Y-Y……….Bookings……….%M-M…..% Y-Y…..B:B
……………. (3-mo. avg.)………………………………… (3-mo. avg.)……………………………………..

Aug’05……..1055.5………-2.1%…..-29.5%……….1022.3…………1.5%……-32.3%…..0.97
Sep’05……..1088.2……….3.1%…..-24.5%…………984.1………..-3.7%……-27.1%…..0.90
Oct’05………1145.9……….5.3%…..-19.9%……….1093.9……….11.2%……-20.3%…..0.95
Nov’05……..1179.7……….2.9%…..-11.9%……….1093.2………..-0.1%……-17.7%…..0.93
Dec’05……..1223.6……….3.7%……-7.1%………..1142.7………….4.5%…….-7.5%…..0.93
Jan’06……..1259.4……….2.9%…….0.1%………..1225.9…………..7.3%…….24.3%…..0.97
Feb’06……..1283.3……….1.9%……-3.6%………..1293.2…………5.5%……..26.3%…..1.01
Mar’06……..1338.7……….4.3%…….5.2%………..1385.3…………7.1%……..40.2%…..1.03
Apr’06………1448.5……….8.2%…..16.9%………..1602.4……….15.7%……..60.4%…..1.11
May’06……..1452.6……….0.3%…..19.8%………..1619.0……….1.0%………59.5%…..1.11
June’06(f)…1557.4……….7.2%…..35.2%……….1782.3……….10.1%…….71.7%…..1.14
July’06(p)….1637.9……….5.2%…..51.9%……….1734.6……….-2.7%……..72.2%…..1.06
Aug’05……..1741.4……….6.3%……65.0%……….1734.2…………0.0%…….69.6%…..1.00

WaferNEWS source: SEMI