The three-month average of worldwide orders for semiconductor equipment in July 2014 was $1.41 billion, up 17.1 percent compared to July 2013 when orders totaled $1.21 billion, according to trade association SEMI.
However, new chip equipment orders declined 2.8 percent from June 2014 when equipment manufacturers received $1.46 billion in orders, the association said.
The three-month average of worldwide billings (shipments) in July 2014 was $1.32 billion, 0.7 percent lower than June 2014, but 9.4 percent higher than the July 2013 shipments level of $1.20 billion, said SEMI.
The equipment book-to-bill ratio in June was 1.07, meaning that equipment manufacturers received $107 in new orders for every $100 of orders that they shipped. In June the ratio was 1.10. The book-to-bill ratio is a three-month moving average of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. It covers front-end wafer processing, test and assembly and packaging equipment, according to the association.
The ratio has been 1.00 or above since September 2013 when it was 0.97. A ratio of more than 1.00 means that equipment demand is rising and supply could be getting tighter.
“Order activity for semiconductor equipment has held at a steady level so far for 2014,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. “This trend, along with improvements in semiconductor device sales and unit shipments, is consistent with our outlook for strong equipment sales growth this year,” he said.
SEMI forecasts that equipment sales will rises nearly 21 percent in 2014 to $38.4billion.
