TECHNOLOGY - June 12, 1996

Key Chip Indicator Rises: The Semiconductor Industry Assn. reported that its May book-to-bill ratio was 0.84. The figure means that chip manufacturers got $84 in new orders for every $100 worth of chips they shipped. “These are very positive developments. They suggest that the industry’s first-quarter doldrums are truly over,” said Doug Andrey of the San Jose-based SIA. Meanwhile, April’s ratio, initially reported at 0.79, was revised to 0.81, the SIA said. The ratio has been below 1.0--the dividing point between market growth and reduction--since the start of the year. It was 0.92 in January, 0.89 in February and 0.79 in March, the lowest since the trade group began keeping track nine years ago.