January North American semiconductor billings down nearly 21% YoY

Feb. 22, 2019

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SEMI published its January Equipment Market Data Subscription Billings Report (EMDS) on Thursday, showing that North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment had significantly less billings worldwide last month than they did a year earlier.

According to SEMI's EMDS, such manufacturers posted $1.89 billion in billings in January (three-month average basis), which is down 10.5% from December 2018's $2.10 billion, and down 20.8% from January 2018's $2.37 billion.

“January billings of North American equipment manufacturers declined 10% when compared to the prior month,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “Weakening smartphone demand and high inventory levels are eroding capital equipment investments, especially by memory suppliers.”

SEMI publishes a monthly North American Billings report and issues the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) report in collaboration with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ).

About the Author

Mike Hockett

Former Editor

Mike Hockett was Editor in Chief for EE from September 2018 to Sept. 2019. Previously he served as editor for two manufacturing trade publications: Industrial Distribution, and Industrial Maintenance & Plant Operation. He began in sports writing for a trio of newspapers in Wisconsin and Iowa and earned a BA degree in print journalism from UW-Eau Claire.