North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts July 2012 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 0.87

SAN JOSE, Calif. — August 16, 2012 — North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.28 billion in orders worldwide in July 2012 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.87, according to the July Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.  A book-to-bill of 0.87 means that $87 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in July 2012 was $1.28 billion. The bookings figure is 10.2 percent lower than the final June 2012 level of $1.42 billion, and is 1.5 percent lower than the July 2011 order level of $1.30 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in July 2012 was $1.48 billion. The billings figure is 3.9 percent lower than the final June 2012 level of $1.54 billion, and is 2.9 percent less than the July 2011 billings level of $1.52 billion.

“Bookings and billings for North American semiconductor equipment in July are close to values reported exactly one year ago,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.  "Seasonal slowing of investment activity in the current cycle is reflected in reduced orders as the industry enters the second half of the year.”

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
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  (final)	1,535.7	1,424.3	0.93
July 2012  (prelim)	1,476.5	1,278.7	0.87

Source: SEMI August 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. Our 2,000 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.