North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts January 2012 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 0.95

SAN JOSE, Calif. – February 23, 2012 – North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.18 billion in orders in January 2012 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.95, according to the January Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.95 means that $95 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in January 2012 was $1.18 billion. The bookings figure is 7.0 percent more than the final December 2011 level of $1.10 billion, and is 22.1 percent below the $1.51 billion in orders posted in January 2011.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in January 2012 was $1.24 billion. The billings figure is 4.7 percent less than the final December 2011 level of $1.30 billion, and is 30.7 percent less than the January 2011 billings level of $1.79 billion.

“In January 2012, North American equipment makers experienced their fourth consecutive month of improvement in orders,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. “While year-over-year bookings and billings are lower than in 2011, the current outlook for equipment spending in 2012 has improved over the past couple of months.”

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.

	Billings (3-mo. avg)	Bookings (3-mo. avg)	Book-to-Bill
Aug 2011	1,457.7	1,162.4	0.80
Sept 2011	1,313.5	926.5	0.71
Oct 2011	1,258.3	926.8	0.74
Nov 2011	1,176.7	977.2	0.83
Dec 2011 (final)	1,300.0	1,102.9	0.85
Jan 2012 (prelim)	1,238.5	1,179.7	0.95

Source: SEMI February 2012

The data contained in this release were compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.

The data are contained in a monthly Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. The report tracks billings and bookings worldwide of North American-headquartered manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not billings and bookings of the chips themselves. The Book-to-Bill report is one of three reports included with the Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS).

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and micro-electronic manufacturing supply chains. SEMI member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Beijing, Bengaluru, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org.