SAN FRANCISCO—The three-month average ratio of bookings to billings for North American semiconductor equipment vendors remained above parity for the fifth consecutive month in May, according to SEMI, a trade group representing fab tool vendors and materials suppliers.

The book-to-bill ratio for North American fab tool vendors in May was 1.09, meaning that $109 worth of orders were booked for every $100 worth of billings, SEMI (San Jose, Calf.) said. The SEMI book-to-bill ratio has remained above parity in each month this year, according to SEMI.

Denny McGuirk, SEMI

"Bookings and billings for new semiconductor equipment continue to improve,” said Denny McGuirk, SEMI president and CE, in a statement. "The data are consistent with higher spending expectations for the second half of the year."

The three-month average of worldwide equipment bookings among North American vendors hit $1.75 billion in May, up 10% from April and up 13% compared with May 2015, SEMI said. The three-month average of billings totaled $1.6 billion, up 10% from April and up 3% from May 2015, SEMI said.

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings.

The book-to-bill ratio for Japan-based semiconductor equipment vendors was 1.04 in May, down from 1.16 in April, according to the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan.

Three-month moving average of bookings and billings for North American semiconductor equipment vendors in millions of dollars. Source: SEMI

 ----Form EE Times