March 16, 2007 – North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.65 billion in orders in February 2007 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.05 according to the February 2007 Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 1.05 means that $105 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in February 2007 was $1.65 billion. The bookings figure is about one percent under the final January 2007 level of $1.67 billion and about 28 percent above the $1.29 billion in orders posted in February 2006.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in February 2007 was $1.58 billion. The billings figure is about two percent under the final January 2007 level of $1.60 billion (see Jan. 07 book-to-bill report) and 23 percent higher than the February 2006 billings level of $1.28 billion.

“The three month average for North American bookings and billings remained steady in February,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “Though semiconductor industry market trends have slowed some in the first part of 2007, current equipment data are at levels well above one year ago.”

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 U.S. dollars.