Japanese manufacturers of semiconductor production machinery have reported sales worth 78.96bn yen ($745m) for August, up 42.5% year-on-year, according to the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan. Orders received during the month were up by 138.9% from August 1998, the trade group said, attributing the performance to accelerating capital spending by chipmakers against a backdrop of rising prices and increased demand. Sales of wafer-processing equipment accounted for the biggest chunk at 48.75bn yen, up 45.7% year-on-year.
Nikon Corp, a major manufacturer of steppers, says it is receiving numerous orders for older, inexpensive machinery. Chipmakers are trying to increase output as much as their budgets permit, company president Shoichiro Yoshida told the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Advantest Corp, Japan’s leading maker of chip-testing equipment, expects an 80% increase in US orders for equipment related to logic IC production for fiscal 1999, said president Hiroshi Ohura.
