April 21, 2008 — /SAN JOSE, CA/ — North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.16 billion in orders in March 2008 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.89 according to the March 2008 Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.89 means that $89 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in March 2008 was $1.16 billion. The bookings figure is about four percent less than the final February 2008 level of $1.21 billion, and about 18 percent less than the $1.42 billion in orders posted in March 2007.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in March 2008 was $1.29 billion. The billings figure is about one percent less than the final February 2008 level of $1.31 billion, and about 10 percent less than the March 2007 billings level of $1.44 billion.

“Orders reported by North American equipment manufacturers have remained at relatively constant levels over the past six months,” says Dan Tracy, senior director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI. “This trend is a reflection of the uncertainty in the semiconductor industry and with current economic conditions.”

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.

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