TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Semiconductor Shipments Weaken: The semiconductor industry’s key market indicator, the book-to-bill ratio, slipped from 1.17 in March to 1.13 in April, according to statistics released in San Jose by the Semiconductor Industry Assn. A book-to-bill ratio of 1.13 means that for every $100 worth of products shipped (billed), manufacturers received $113 worth of new orders (bookings). Preliminary April figures show that new orders for semiconductors in the United States were down 0.6% to $2.2 billion from March, but are still 35% higher than in April, 1992. Billings rose 3.5% in one month to $1.919 billion, 34.3% above a year ago.
