The US semiconductor industry book-to bill ratio sprang a surprise in February, rising to 1.15 from a 1.10 figure for January – revised sharply upwards from the 1.07 reported at the time, against mean analysts’ forecasts of only 1.09, the US Semiconductor Industry Association reported. Average monthly orders for the three months to February were $2,670m, up 6.4% on the figure for the three months to January – and up 28.5% on the figure for February 1993; average monthly shipments for the three months to February were $2,340m, up 2.5% on the January figure, and up 33.5% on the February 1993 figure. Actual shipments in the month of February were $2,308m, up 5.1% on January, and 29.4% higher than the February 1992 figure of $1,784m.
