North American semiconductor equipment Book-to-Bill Ratio is up by 24.1%

North American semiconductor equipment manufacturers posted $1.13 billion in orders in January 2010 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.20.

A book-to-bill of 1.20 means that $120 worth of orders was received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month bookings figure is up 24.1 percent from the final December 2009 level of $912.7 million, and more than three times higher than the $277.2 million in orders posted in January 2009.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in January 2010 was $946.3 million. The billings figure is 11.3 percent greater than the final December 2009 level of $850.1 million, and 62.0 percent more than the January 2009 billings level of $584.2 million.

"Semiconductor capital equipment bookings are at the highest level since April 2008," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The Book-to-Bill ratio of 1.20 reflects the robust capex spending plans announced by semiconductor device manufacturers over the past several months."