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UPDATE 1-Japan chip gear orders down 68 pct in OctoberTOKYO, Nov 19, 2008 (Reuters via COMTEX) -- Orders for Japanese equipment used to make semiconductors fell 68 percent in October from the same month last year as chip makers slashed or froze spending, calculations based on industry data showed on Wednesday. It was the 20th straight month of year-on-year declines as the financial crisis hurts consumer appetite for electronics, and even big chip makers such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd cut spending. Orders in October for equipment used to process wafers, print circuitry on them, cut them into chips and test them came to 39.18 billion yen ($403.9 million), down from 123.17 billion yen the previous year and down 45 percent from the previous month, the calculations showed. The Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said the book-to-bill ratio was 0.81 in October, as orders fell short of sales for the second straight month. The ratio means new orders worth 81 yen were received for every 100 yen of products delivered. Based on the preliminary report, which gives three-month moving averages of orders and sales, sales in October came to 44.24 billion yen, down 63.5 percent from the previous year. Japan is home to semiconductor gear makers such as Tokyo Electron Ltd, Advantest Corp, Disco Corp , Yokogawa Electric Corp and Nikon Corp . (Reporting by Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Chris Gallagher) ($1=97.01 Yen) Keywords: CHIPS/ ([email protected]; +81-3-6441-1812; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. MMMM [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] |