North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.49 billion in orders worldwide in October 2016 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.91, according to the September Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.  A book-to-bill of 0.91 means that $91 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

SEMI reports that the three-month average of worldwide bookings in October 2016 was $1.49 billion. The bookings figure is 5.1 percent lower than the final September 2016 level of $1.57 billion, and is 12.2 percent higher than the October 2015 order level of $1.33 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in October 2016 was $1.63 billion. The billings figure is 9.0 percent higher than the final September 2016 level of $1.49 billion, and is 19.8 percent higher than the October 2015 billings level of $1.36 billion.

“Total equipment billings increased 9 percent in October over September, while bookings contracted 5 percent,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.  “As the result, the book-to bill ratio for October dropped below parity for the first time in 11 months, even though bookings and billings activity remains at elevated levels relative to last year.”

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.

Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), November 2016