On a three-month average basis,North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted US$1.12 billion in orders worldwide and a book-to-bill(B/B)ratio of 0.84 in August 2012,the new low so far this year.

SEMI(Semiconductor Equipment&Materials International)recently published the August report.

A book-to-bill of 0.84 means that US$84 worth of orders were received for every US$100 of product billed for the month.The ratio represents decline trend of the equipment industry for a fifth month and the third figure below 1 so far this year.

Dan Tracy,senior director of SEMI Industry Research and Statistics,pointed out that the second half of the year continues to show reduced order and billing levels for the 2012 spending cycle.He expected 2012 equipment revenues to decline slightly with total spending for front-end and back-end semiconductor equipment globally remaining at the US$40 billion or greater level for the third consecutive year.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in August 2012 was US$1.12 billion.The bookings figure is 9.2%lower than the revised July 2012 level of US$1.23 billion,and is 3.6%lower than the August 2011 order level of US$1.16 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in August 2012 was US$1.34 billion.The billings figure is 7.4%lower than the revised July 2012 level of US$1.44 billion,and is 8.4%less than the August 2011 billings level of US$1.46 billion.

R.Y.Tseng,a senior manager at SEMI Taiwan,estimated that global spending on the semiconductor capital equipment would slightly rise next year over this year based on higher capital expenditure announced by Intel Corp.and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.(TSMC)in spite of fewer spending announced by Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd.

Industry executives estimated TSMC would increase capital expenditure to US$12.5-14 billion between 2014 and 2015 to secure Applea??s A7-processor contract.

The ratio began declining after hitting new high in May this yeae.Tseng ascribed the slip mostly to expansion slowdown at major chipmakers in the second half this year.However,he felt that the ratio would rally in a few months in anticipation that brisk markets for smartphones and tablet PCs would drive up demands for NAND Flash chips.