Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Q3 Semi Equipment Demand Plummets

SAN JOSE — Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment bookings plummeted 38% year-over-year in the third quarter as slower end-product demand and rising inventories took their toll.

Worldwide semiconductor equipment bookings were $7.6 billion, down 29% from second quarter.

Billings fell 5% year-over-year and 11% sequentially to $10.6 billion, said SEMI, which collects the data jointly with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) from over 100 global equipment companies.

Semiconductor equipment demand is considered a leading indicator of future semiconductor and printed circuit board sales.

The quarterly billings data by region in millions of US dollars, year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter growth rates by region:

Region	3Q2011	2Q 2011	3Q2010	3Q11/2Q11 (Q-o-Q)	3Q11/3Q10 (Y-o-Y)
Korea	2.27	2.17	2.62	4%	-13%
North America	2.11	2.21	1.53	-4%	38%
Japan	1.74	1.48	1.24	18%	40%
Taiwan	1.49	2.76	3.03	-46%	-51%
ROW	1.04	0.99	1.02	5%	2%
Europe	1.02	1.18	0.62	-13%	66%
China	0.94	1.13	1.13	-17%	-17%
Total	10.61	11.92	11.19	-11%	-5%