SAN JOSE – North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $285.6 million in orders in January, down 75% from a year ago, the SEMI trade group said. The book-to-bill was 0.48, well under the 1.0 benchmark indicating near-term growth.

Bookings are at their lowest point in 18 years.

The numbers are tracked on a three-month rolling average to soften single-month variances. The current book-to-bill ratio indicates that $48 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

January bookings were down 51% from revised December numbers, and off 75% from January 2008.

The three-month average of global billings was $592.2 million, down 12% from revised December levels and 54% from a year ago.

“Sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment continue to decline, exacerbated by the diminished demand for consumer electronics, and the global economic turmoil.” said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. “As a result, bookings are at the lowest levels since 1991.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.