TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May for the 22nd consecutive month, but both new orders and production took hits.

SAN JOSE – North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.6 billion in orders in April (three-month average basis), up 10.8% year-over-year and up 1.1% sequentially, says SEMI.

The book-to-bill ratio was 0.98.

A book-to-bill of 0.98 means $98 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.