Analysts were a tad optimistic on the US Semiconductor Industry Association’s book-to-bill ratio for December, and it came in at 1.09, where the average of the guesses came to 1.10. The ratio was down from a revised 1.10 in November, but up on the 1.07 of December 1994. December orders dropped 1% to $4,820m on the November figure, but were 41.2% up on December 1994. Shipments rose 0.5% for a new record of $4,430m, up 38.4% on December 1994. For the year, shipments in North America jumped 39.8% to $46,900m. The seasonally-adjusted indicator appears to be much more unreliable than the old, unadjusted one, which was seldom revised by more than 0.1 either way: the revised November figure of 1.10 compares with a provisional 1.14, and such revisions make the number less valuable.
