June 20, 2007 – North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment saw sales and orders not quite as good in May as they were in April, but one bright spot is a continued slight uptick in demand for their tools, according to the latest monthly data from SEMI.

Worldwide bookings (a three-month average) in May were $1.67 billion, about 6.4% more than the previous month, and 3.0% higher than May 2006 — the third consecutive month of M-M growth, and slightly better than the Y-Y gains in the past three months. Billings (also a three-month average) also were roughly $1.67 billion, up 4.8% M-M (also a 3-month positive streak) and 15% Y-Y, the best Y-Y comparison since January.

Thus, the book-to-bill ratio (B:B) was an even-parity 1.00 in May, meaning that $100 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. The B:B has been right around 1.0 for the past six months, SEMI noted.

SEMI also said it is surveying its member companies, and will issue an updated forecast outlook for capital equipment in July.