North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.37 billion in orders worldwide in December 2014 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.98, according to the December EMDS Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.98 means that $98 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2014 was $1.37 billion. The bookings figure is 12.3 percent higher than the final November 2014 level of $1.22 billion, and is 1.1 percent lower than the December 2013 order level of $1.38 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2014 was $1.39 billion. The billings figure is 17.0 percent higher than the final November 2014 level of $1.19 billion, and is 3.1 percent higher than the December 2013 billings level of $1.35 billion.

“While three-month averages for both bookings and billings increased, billings outpaced bookings slightly, nudging the book-to-bill ratio slightly below parity,” said SEMI president and CEO Denny McGuirk. “2015 equipment spending is forecast to remain on track for annual growth given the current expectations for the overall semiconductor industry.”

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, January 2015