Orders for semiconductor equipment totaled $1.01 billion in September, down 8.3 percent from August, according to the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials (SEMI) trade group. Shipments slipped 7 percent to $1.01 billion, SEMI said.
However, new orders increased 6.8 percent compared to September 2012, when orders totaled $912.8 million. Shipments were 13.6 percent lower in September 2013 compared to the same month one year ago, when sales were $1.16 billion, according to the association.
The semiconductor equipment book-to-bill ratio was 0.97, down from 0.98 in August. The ratio is the lowest it has been since December 2012, when it was 0.92, according to SEMI.
A book-to-bill ratio of 0.97 means that equipment manufacturers received only $97 in new equipment orders for every $100 of equipment that they shipped in September.
"The book-to-bill ratio reflects seasonal softening and near-term deferral in capital spending in some segments of the industry," said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. He added that SEMI expects that increased demand for semiconductors "will drive continued capacity investment in 2014."
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