August 2009 book-to-bill ratio of 1.03: SEMI

USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $599.0 million in orders in August 2009 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.03, according to the August 2009 Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI.

A book-to-bill of 1.03 means that $103 worth of orders was received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in August 2009 was $599.0 million. The bookings figure is about 5 percent greater than the final July 2009 level of $571.8 million, and about 31 percent less than the $866.8 million in orders posted in August 2008.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in August 2009 was $579.9 million. The billings figure is almost 8 percent greater than the final July 2009 level of $538.0 million, and just over 45 percent less than the August 2008 billings level of $1.06 billion.

“Equipment bookings have increased for five months in a row as market conditions recover from the very low levels reported earlier this year," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “With semiconductor device sales and fab capacity utilization improving over recent months, we expect equipment spending to follow a similar trend during the recovery.”Source: SEMI September 2009.

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 US dollars.

Allen Lu named president of SEMI China

SAN JOSE, USA: SEMI announced the appointment of Allen Lu, Ph.D. as the president of SEMI China. Lu assumes responsibility for the association’s programs, products and services in China.

He will oversee relationships with SEMI members, government and academia in the region; support SEMI international programs; and serve SEMI members from all regions that have interests in China. Lu succeeds Rong-Ling Chen, who has served as acting president of SEMI China since April 2009 and who will continue to serve SEMI as an advisor to Lu.

Lu has 20 years of semiconductor industry experience with a background in technology, business and management. Prior to joining SEMI as regional president, Lu managed the Intel Technology Manufacturing and Engineering group’s China Fab Program, overseeing capital equipment supplier chain development for Intel’s first Asia fab in Dalian, China.

Prior to that, Lu started Intel’s Public Affairs organization in China managing government affairs, community relations, and education programs, and served as the Director of Intel China Public Affairs for four years.

Lu also worked in Intel’s California Technology and Manufacturing group for six years as a technologist and Group Leader. Preceding his work at Intel, Lu was senior process engineer and project leader for Applied Materials.

Lu began his semiconductor career as a research scientist at Northwestern University and North Carolina State University. Lu has a B.Sc. from the University of Science and Technology of China and a Ph.D. in solid state physics from the University of Virginia.

“We are extremely pleased to have Allen Lu join SEMI as the president of SEMI China,” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Allen has demonstrated leadership in both the IDM and equipment manufacturing aspects of the semiconductor industry, and he possesses business acumen with a strong background of working with government, academia, and other organizations on behalf of the industry."

"We are both fortunate and honored that R.L. Chen agreed to serve as acting president during the transitional period after the departure of Mark Ding," said Myers. "R.L. has had an illustrious career in the Chinese semiconductor industry and possesses great familiarity with SEMI members and operations in the region. He is a strong supporter of SEMI, and we offer our heartfelt thanks for his contributions.”

“I am deeply honored to join SEMI as the president of SEMI China,” said Lu. “China is an exciting business environment with continuing growth opportunities in its semiconductor, PV, and FPD industries.

“My broad experiences in several aspects of the semiconductor industry supply chain will help me as we grow the value that we provide to SEMI members here in China and around the world. I value the deep relationships that SEMI already has in China, and together we will achieve great things for the industry.”

SEMI's mid-year consensus forecast for chip equipment industry

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: SEMI projects 2009 semiconductor equipment sales to reach $14.14 billion according to the mid-year edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Forecast, released by SEMI at the annual SEMICON West exposition.

The forecast indicates that, following a 31 percent market decline in 2008, the equipment market will decline another 52 percent in 2009, but will experience a rebound with annual growth of about 47 percent in 2010.

"Spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment this year will reach low levels experienced 15 years or so ago," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Forecasting has never been more challenging, though we expect 2010 spending to show double-digit improvement off of extremely low levels in 2009.”

Wafer processing equipment, the largest product segment by dollar value, is expected to decline 53 percent in 2009 to $10.42 billion.

The forecast predicts that the market for assembly and packaging equipment will decline by 53 percent to $958 million in 2009. The market for semiconductor test equipment is forecasted to decline by about 48 percent to $1.78 billion this year.

Growth is anticipated to be negative in all regions in 2009 with the North American market claiming the number one spot from Japan. Japan will fall to the number two spot, followed by Taiwan. The South Korea market is expected to contract 62 percent, resulting in the fourth largest market for new equipment.

The following results are given in terms of market size in billions of U.S. dollars and percentage growth over the prior year:

Forecast by Equipment Segment
Source: SEMI

Forecast by RegionSource: SEMI

J.C. Kim named SEMI chairman, Rick Wallace named vice-chairman

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: SEMI announced the appointment of J.C. Kim, CEO and chairman of Edwards Korea Ltd., chairman of the industry association's International Board of Directors.

Kim succeeds Bob Akins, chairman and CEO of Cymer, Inc., who served as chairman for the past year. The results of the association's annual elections will become effective at the annual SEMI membership meeting, to be held Wednesday, July 15, during the SEMICON West 2009 exposition in San Francisco.

In addition, the association’s executive committee appointed Richard Wallace, CEO of KLA-Tencor, to the position of vice-chairman of the board.

"On behalf of SEMI and its members, I am pleased to welcome J.C. Kim and Rick Wallace as the new chair and vice-chair of the SEMI International Board of Directors," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Their industry expertise and service on the Board are strong assets to SEMI and its membership, and we look forward to their guidance in the coming year.”

In accordance with the association's by-laws, the following board members were re-elected: André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, president and CEO of Soitec; Susumu Kohyama, president and CEO of Covalent Materials Corp.; Douglas Neugold, CEO and president of ATMI; Mary Puma, chairman, CEO and president of Axcelis Technologies; Michael Splinter, president and CEO of Applied Materials, inc.; Kiyoshi Togawa, senior VP and executive officer at Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd.; Way Tu, CEO and president of Allegro Manufacturing Pte. Ltd.; and Kazuo Ushida, managing director, senior executive officer and president, Precision Equipment Company, NIKON Corporation.

The global industry association's 17 voting directors, four non-voting ex-officio and nine emeritus directors, represent companies from Europe, Japan, Korea, North America, Singapore and Taiwan, reflecting the global scope of its activities.

The association's charter stipulates that individuals may be elected by the general membership as voting members of the board for a total of four, two-year terms and non-voting ex-officio members for a total of three, one-year terms.

Semicon equipment: April 2009 book-to-bill ratio 0.65 -- 3pc rise!

SAN JOSE, USA: North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $253 million in orders in April 2009 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.65 according to the April 2009 Book-to-Bill Report published by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 0.65 means that $65 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in April 2009 was $253 million. The bookings figure is 3 percent greater than the final March 2009 level of $245.6 million, and about 77 percent less than the $1.09 billion in orders posted in April 2008.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in April 2009 was $389.9 million. The billings figure is 11 percent less than the final March 2009 level of $438.3 million, and about 71 percent less than the April 2008 billings level of $1.34 billion.Source: SEMI, USA.

"Capital investment by chip makers remains limited and bookings for semiconductor manufacturing equipment from North America-based companies have been essentially flat at extraordinarily low levels for the past quarter," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI.

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 US dollars.