Chip gear index rises back up slightly, but orders, shipments slip

Chip gear index rises back up slightly, but orders, shipments slip
SAN JOSE -- New orders for chip production tools fell slightly less than shipments in September vs. August, according to North American-based suppliers. The result was a slight increase in the book-to-bill ratio of North American companies at 0.65 in September, said the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) trade group today.

Bookings for semiconductor equipment dropped 11% in September to $644 million compared to a revised $724 million level in August, said SEMI, which uses a three-month moving average in its monthly Express Report. Worldwide shipments of systems by North American-based suppliers dropped 13% to $993 million vs. $1.15 billion in August, the report said.

"As expected, recent global events have exacerbated the already poor forward visibility for high-tech industries as consumer confidence remains weak and businesses hold off on spending," noted Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Industry analysts have been fairly unified in pushing out the timing of recovery for the semiconductor and capital equipment industries; it is still too early to determine the long-term fiscal effects of ongoing geo-political events," he added.

Earlier today, market researcher IC Insights Inc. released its new forecast, predicting semiconductor capital spending would fall 32% in 2001, followed by another 25% drop in 2002 (see today's story).

SEMI's book-to-bill ratio of 0.65 means that $65 worth of new orders were received by suppliers for every $100 of products shipped. In August, the book-to-bill ratio stood at 0.63, which was down slightly from 0.65 in July. The SEMI's Express Report book-to-bill hit a low point in the current industry recession at 0.44 in April.

September's tool bookings were 78% lower than $2.89 billion in orders during the same month last year, SEMI said. Shipments were 60% below $2.48 billion in September 2000.