By Christina Bruns

WaferNews Associate Editor

The North American book-to-bill ratio rose to 0.65 for the month of September, up slightly from the 0.61 posted for August, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), San Jose, CA.

This means that $65 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product shipped for the month.

According to its September Express Report, SEMI said worldwide bookings for the month totaled $644 million, down 11% from August’s revised level of $724 million and 78% below the $2.89 billion in orders posted in September 2000.

Worldwide shipments in September totaled $993 million, 13% below August’s $1.15 billion.

“As expected, recent global events have exacerbated the already poor forward visibility for high-tech industries as consumer confidence remains weak and businesses hold off on spending,” said Stan Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “Industry analysts have been fairly unified in pushing out the timing of recovery for the semiconductor and capital equipment industries; it is still to early too determine the long-term fiscal effects of ongoing geopolitical events.”

SEMI’s book-to-bill is a ratio of three month moving averages.

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