Chip equipment demand stabilizes at high levels.(Capital Equipment)(Brief Article)

Purchasing, September, 2004

Orders for semiconductor capital equipment appear to have stalled after growing for months. Orders for equipment were about $1.61 billion in July, about flat with June, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). Orders were still more than double the same month last year, when the chip industry ordered $706.9 million in equipment. Shipments were $1.54 billion in July, up 2% from June and up 96% from a year earlier.

The equipment book-to-bill ratio was 1.05 in July, meaning that for every $100 worth of equipment products shipped, equipment makers received $105 in new orders.

"The bookings and billings values for North American-based equipment companies have stabilized at high levels," says Stanley Myers, SEMI president.