A big upturn in orders saw the chip book-to-bill ratio for February jump to 1.09 from the January figure of 0.96, the Semiconductor Industry Association reports. The uptick was the largest month-to-month gain since March 1983. Average orders for the three month to February rose 14.9% to $1271.9m compared with the January figure, and were 4.4% higher than the comparable figure compiled one year ago. Average shipments for the three months to February were much less lusty, rising just 1.1% to $1171.9m compared with the January figure. Actual semiconductor shipments to the US market in February were $1200.9m, an increase of 9.0% from the $1101.4m for January, 8.4% on the figure a year ago. The book-to-bill figure for December has been finalised and stands at 1.00, up from the preliminary figure of 0.95 that was reported in January.
