Semiconductor sales by US manufacturers will fall a lot further before the industry reaches the bottom of its current cycle. In June the industry recorded a book to bill ratio of 0.74 – meaning that for every $100 of goods shipped only $74 of new orders were received. Contrary to everyoneÆs hopes, May 1998 was not the bottom of the downturn cycle, although shipments were essentially equal to those of a year ago, said Dick Greene, principal analyst with the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International SEMI, who released the figures. The book-to-bill ratio has slid alarmingly from 0.94 in January to 0.74 in June and the bookings figure in June was 32% below the level a year earlier. Bad news continue to pour from the industry and Melbourne, Florida-based Harris Corp is the latest to retrench with plans to lay off 2,300 workers and absorb a $142m restructuring charge.
