SAN JOSE — The 90-day moving average orders for North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers fell 1.5% year-over-year on seasonality.
Manufacturers reported $1.28 billion in orders worldwide in July, according to SEMI. Bookings were down 10.2% from the revised June numbers.
The book-to-bill ratio was 0.87, meaning that $87 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. A ratio below 1.0 is considered a sign of near-term recession. It was the second straight month of negative growth.
The three-month average worldwide billings in July was $1.48 billion, down 3.9% from the revised June figures and down 2.9% from July 2011.
Semiconductor equipment demand is considered a leading indicator for future printed circuit board and assembly demand.
|
Billings |
Bookings |
Book-to-Bill |
February 2012 |
1,322.8 |
1,336.9 |
1.01 |
March 2012 |
1,287.6 |
1,445.7 |
1.12 |
April 2012 |
1,458.7 |
1,602.8 |
1.10 |
May 2012 |
1,539.3 |
1,613.7 |
1.05 |
June 2012 |
1,535.7 |
1,424.3 |
0.93 |
July 2012 |
1,476.5 |
1,278.7 |
0.87 |
Source: SEMI August 2012