NORTH AmericaN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY POSTS JANUARY 2006 BOOK-TO-BILL RATIO OF 0.97

SEMI: North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.26 billion in orders in January 2006 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.97 . A book-to-bill of 0.97 means that $97 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in January 2006 was $1.26 billion. The bookings figure is ten percent higher than the final December 2005 level of $1.14 billion and over 27 percent higher than the $986 million in orders posted in January 2005.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in January 2006 was $1.29 billion. The billings figure is over five percent above the final December 2005 level of $1.22 billion and almost three percent higher than the January 2005 billings level of $1.26 billion.

January 2006 bookings for North American-based semiconductor equipment providers are at the highest level since November of 2004. These year-end numbers reinforce the optimism in the capital equipment industry, and indicate continued momentum and steady growth for the year ahead.

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

	Billings (Three-month avg.)	Bookings (Three-month avg.)	Book-to-Bill
August 2005	1,055.5	1,022.3	0.97
September 2005	1,088.2	984.1	0.90
October 2005	1,145.9	1,093.9	0.95
November 2005	1,179.7	1,093.2	0.93
December 2005 (final)	1,223.6	1,142.7	0.93
January 2006 (prelim.)	1,291.0	1,256.8	0.97

North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers

Publ 20060216