Chip Equipment Orders Fall Yet Again

The closely watched book-to-bill ratio came in at an anemic 0.46.
By TSC Staff ,

Semiconductor equipment manufacturers' new orders, or bookings, fell further in May, which could end some hopes that the chip market is about to see a turnaround.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings for May came in at $704 million, according to the

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International

, a trade group. The May figure is 3% off the revised April figure of $723 million and 75% below the year-earlier's $2.78 billion.

Shipments came in at $1.52 billion, 9% off April's revised $1.66 billion and 30% under May 2000's $2.16 billion.

The closely watched book-to-bill ratio was 0.46, meaning that $46 in new orders were received for every $100 worth of products shipped in the month. In a note Thursday morning,

Credit Suisse First Boston

said it expected the book-to-bill ratio to come in at 0.55 to 0.66.

"While the book-to-bill ratio is slightly elevated from the

prior month, both shipments and orders continued to decline," Stanley Myers, the group's president and CEO, said in a statement. "It is likely that the prospects for sustained year-over-year improvements in monthly shipments are three to four quarters away."

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