SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The fab tool market remains terrible. North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted a book-to-bill ratio of 0.61 in March, up from 0.49 in February, according to SEMI.
At the same time, ASML, Ultratech and others posted mixed results. And an analyst downgraded ATE supplier Teradyne Inc.
The book-to-bill ratio slightly improved for March. A book-to-bill of 0.61 means that $61 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. 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.
''The sharp decline in bookings levels has abated," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of San Jose-based SEMI, in a statement. ''However, the improvement in the March book to bill ratio is primarily attributed to reduced billings, and semiconductor equipment bookings remain at levels below that needed to support a healthy supply chain."
The three-month average of worldwide bookings in March 2009 was $278.9 million. The bookings figure is about eight percent greater than the final February 2009 level of $258.4 million, and about 76 percent less than the $1.17 billion in orders posted in March 2008.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in March 2009 was $455.3 million. The billings figure is about 13 percent less than the final February 2009 level of $525.5 million, and about 66 percent less than the
March 2008 billings level of $1.34 billion.
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