The Semiconductor Industry Assn. reported that semiconductor...

The Semiconductor Industry Assn. reported that semiconductor shipments in the U.S. market hit a record in May. However, because shipments climbed faster than sales, the book-to-bill ratio, which compares orders to sales, fell to 1.15 from 1.19 in April. The book-to-bill ratio means that for every $100 of semiconductors shipped, the industry received $115 million in new orders. Billings in May set a record for a four-week month, rising 5.7% from April to $1.05 billion. The billings were 28.3% higher than in the same month last year. Many analysts expected an even bigger drop in the book-to-bill ratio.