Spotlight: Semiconductor Book-to-Bill Ratio Drops

The book-to-bill ratio for North American semiconductor equipment makers, a closely watched gauge of the industry’s health, fell to 0.60 in August, as orders for machines used to make chips plummeted. A ratio of 0.60 means that chip equipment makers received $60 worth of orders for every $100 in products shipped that month. The revised ratio was 0.66 in July, according to Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International, the Mountain View-based group that reports the ratio.