The chip book-to-bill ratio for the North American market fell in May – but the 1.14 figure is the same as the one reported by the Semiconductor Industry Association for April – it’s simply that the April ratio has been revised upwards to 1.15 from the originally reported 1.14. The Association says average monthly orders […]
The chip book-to-bill ratio for the North American market fell in May – but the 1.14 figure is the same as the one reported by the Semiconductor Industry Association for April – it’s simply that the April ratio has been revised upwards to 1.15 from the originally reported 1.14. The Association says average monthly orders for the three months to May were up 1.3% on the April figure at $2,966m. May 1994 orders were 33.5% higher than the $2,221m figure reported in May 1993, and broke the record set only in the previous month. May semiconductor shipments based on the same three-month moving average, were up 2.2% at $2,602, and were up 31.9% on the May 1993 figure. Actual semiconductor shipments in May were down 0.3% on the April figure at $2,508m, but were still 32.1% higher than the May 1993 figure. The trade lobby reassures that the slight fall in the index is not a cause for concern since bookings continue to increase, reflecting the strong underlying demand for semiconductors. The May order performance follows record bookings activity in the last five months. The numbers are collected by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.