North American semiconductor equipment manufacturers' net orders of $1.55 billion in November

According to the November BB-ratio report released by SEMI, the international semiconductor equipment and materials association, the net order value (three-month average) of North American semiconductor equipment companies in November 2016 was $1.55 billion, and the BB-ratio was 0.96.

The BB ratio is calculated by dividing the order value by the shipment value, and a BB ratio of 0.96 means that for every 100 dollars in shipments, the order value is $96.



In November, orders for front-end equipment totaled $1.36 billion, up from the previous month's $1.32 billion and representing a 25.2% increase compared to November of the previous year. Shipments in November amounted to $1.45 billion, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 0.94 for front-end equipment. Front-end equipment shipments in October were $1.46 billion, while those in November of the previous year were $1.17 billion (the front-end equipment category includes wafer processes, mask/reti manufacturing, wafer manufacturing, and fab facilities).



Orders for back-end equipment in November amounted to $180 million, a slight increase from the $170 million reported last October. Shipments in November totaled $160 million, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.15 for back-end equipment. For reference, the shipment value of back-end equipment last October was $170 million, and the shipment and order values for November of the previous year were $120 million and $140 million, respectively (the back-end equipment category includes assembly, packaging, and test equipment).

"Current equipment sales are higher than expected at the beginning of the year," said Dan Tracy, a senior analyst at SEMI. "Semiconductor equipment industry sales are driven by investments in 3D NAND, advanced foundry facilities, and advanced packaging, and we expect sales to continue in the same areas in 2017."