A book-to-bill of 0.89 means that Y89 in new orders were received for every Y100 of products billed for the month. The ratio stood at 0.88 in September and 1.21 in August, according to SEAJ.

According to the report, global orders for Japanese-made fab tools jumped 128% in November from a year earlier to Y55.70 billion, for the ninth straight month of gains, the SEAJ said. In month-on-month terms, global orders for Japanese chip manufacturing equipment in November dropped 20%, according to the report.

In comparison, North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $779 million in orders in November 2002 and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.79, according to industry organization Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). This is flat with a book-to-bill ratio of 0.78 recorded for October 2002 (see Dec. 19 story ).