SAN JOSE, CA – North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $905 million in orders in July and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, says SEMI.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in July was down 3% sequentially, and down about 36% compared to July 2007.

The three-month average of worldwide billings was $1.09 billion, down about 6% sequentially, and down about 36% from the same month last year.

"Orders for semiconductor equipment continue reflect the pronounced cutback in capital expenditures this year and are at the lowest levels since November of 2003,” said Daniel Tracy, senior director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI. "While chip-makers remain attentive to cost controls, this remains a highly cyclic industry. Factory utilization levels, unit demand growth and planned fab projects suggest new investment activity will resume in 2009.”

NEW YORK -- The price of tin used in solder paste fell to $$8.00/LB down from $11.00/LB in May.

Gold was below $800/ Troy ounce, down to $786.50/ Troy ounce on Aug. 15, the first time in 2008 that the price has dipped below the $800 mark.

Pricing of CCL may also be headed downward. Copper prices have been in free fall since June, down from a high of $4.10/LB in July, to $3.25/LB last week. This coupled with a high CCL inventory level should push pricing down in Q4. Major companies in Asia have already reported price reductions in the range of 10% for new orders.