TECHNOLOGY - Jan. 12, 1994

Semiconductor Book-to-Bill Ratio Goes Up: The industry ratio for the North American market increased in December, according to statistics collected by World Semiconductor Trade Statistics and released by the San Jose-based Semiconductor Industry Assn. December bookings in the North American market (orders based on a three-month moving average) were $2.276 billion--up 3.0% from the $2.210 billion recorded in November--and 20.0% higher than the $1.896 billion figure posted in December, 1992. The December book-to-bill ratio is 1.04. November’s preliminary ratio remains unchanged at 0.99. A book-to-bill ratio of 1.04 means that for every $100 worth of products shipped (billed), manufacturers received $104 worth of new orders (bookings).