Confusion reigned ahead of the announcement of the January book-to-bill ratio because the US Semiconductor Industry Association is introducing seasonal adjustments to iron out the peaks and troughs that occur for the same periods every year, and analysts were unclear what scaling factor would be used – but as it also gave the unadjusted number when it announced late Thursday night, only the analysts were discomfited. The seasonally adjusted US book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.10 in January from a seasonally adjusted 1.07 in December, but on the unadjusted figures, the January ratio was 1.13 and the December one was 1.05, making it clear that the adjustment damps the swings substantially. Orders in January were 2.1% up at $3,500m compared with December, and shipments were $3,190m, flat with the December. With seasonal adjustment, the trade body appears to have abandoned its practice of reporting monthly figures as a three-month running average.
