SAN JOSE -- It's still unclear that the chip-equipment market has hit the bottom in the current IC downturn, that is based on the latest--and gloomy--shipment and order figures.
Worldwide shipments of semiconductor equipment hit $7.1 billion in the second quarter of 2001, a 39.5% decline from the like period a year ago and a 37.2% drop sequentially, according to a new report from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) trade group today.
SEMI also reported that worldwide chip-equipment orders were $4.29 billion in the second quarter of 2001. The figure is 73% below the same quarter a year ago and 34% drop from the first period, according to the San Jose-based trade group. Korea and Japan has the biggest percentage drop in tool purchases, on a sequential basis, while Taiwan slipped the least among major chip-producing regions (see table below).
The news is also bad for the first half of this year. "Net bookings of semiconductor manufacturing equipment in the first half of 2001 are 63% below the same period last year," said analyst Elizabeth Schumann, director of industry research and statistics at SEMI.
"Although shipments in the first half of this year are down only 16% from the same period last year, the continuing decline in orders reflected in the new quarterly data supports our expectation that the overall equipment market will decline to approximately $31 billion this year," Schumann said.
There are some positive signs, however. Recent book-to-bill numbers for North American-based suppliers of semiconductor equipment appear to provide more proof that the downturn could be at the bottom.
Orders for chip production tools grew 5% in July from the previous month at North American-based suppliers, according to SEMI (see Aug. 22 story ).
The slight increase in orders coupled with a continuing decline in tool shipments pushed SEMI's book-to-bill up from 0.56 in June to 0.67 in July (see Aug. 21 story ).
Where chip gear is being sold
| Region |
Q2 2001 |
Q1 2001 |
% change |
Q2 2000 |
% change
from year ago |
| Europe |
$0.98 billion |
$1.58 billion |
-37.9% |
$1.52 billion |
-35.5% |
| Japan |
$1.78 billion |
$3.37 billion |
-47.3% |
$1.83 billion |
-2.8% |
| North America |
$2.15 billion |
$2.97 billion |
-27.8% |
$3.17 billion |
-32.3% |
| Korea |
$0.49 billion |
$1.03 billion |
-52.5% |
$1.21 billion |
-59.6% |
| Taiwan |
$0.95 billion |
$1.13 billion |
-16.0% |
$2.45 billion |
-61.2% |
| ROW* |
$0.72 billion |
$1.17 billion |
-38.4% |
$1.51 billion |
-39.5% |
| Total |
$7.07 billion |
$11.25 billion |
-37.2% |
$11.69 billion |
-39.5% |
*Rest of world includes China, Singapore, and other countries
Source: SEMI |
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