October 18, 2006 – Demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment from North American suppliers dipped in September due to seasonal cyclicality, but is expected to stay on track through year’s end to make 2006 the second-strongest year in history for equipment spending, according to new data from SEMI.
Bookings for tools (a three-month average) slipped to about $1.624 billion, a 6.1% decline from August but a 65% gain from September 2005. Billings fell slightly month-on-month (-6.6%), but were up 49% year-on-year, to about $1.627 billion. The book-to-bill ratio (B:B) came in at an even 1.00, meaning that an equal $100 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
Preliminary tally of 3Q bookings and billings shows demand increased slightly as the summer progressed. Bookings in 3Q totaled $5.09 billion, a 1.69% increase from 2Q06 and 68.8% higher than 3Q06. Billings also totaled $5.09 billion, up 12.3% quarter-on-quarter and 55.4% year-on-year.
The dip in September bookings indicates the current equipment cycle is slowing down, explained Dan Tracy, senior director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI, in a statement. Nonetheless, overall performance through the year remains on track to become the second strongest year for equipment spending in the semiconductor industry.”
North American equipment bookings, billings — September 2006
Month……….Billings……….%M-M…..%Y-Y……….Bookings……….%M-M…..% Y-Y…..B:B
……………. (3-mo. avg.)………………………………… (3-mo. avg.)……………………………………..
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…….1557.4……….7.2%……..35.2%……….1782.3……….10.1%……….71.7%…….1.14
July’06……..1637.9……….5.2%……..51.9%……….1734.6……….-2.7%………..72.2%…….1.06
Aug’05(f)…..1742.8……….6.4%………65.1%……….1729.7………-0.3%……….69.6%……..0.99
Sep’05(p)…..1627.4………-6.6%……..49.5%……….1624.0……….-6.1%………65.0%……..1.00
WaferNEWS source: SEMI