Japanese manufacturers' orders for chip-making equipment more than doubled last month for the seventh straight monthly gain on growing demand out of Asia.
Orders rose 132.1 percent to ?137.7 billion (US$1.3 billion) from ?59.3 billion in December 2002, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said. Orders for last year rose 37.4 percent to ?1.21 trillion, the association said.
Semiconductor makers in Asia, such as Toshiba Corp, NEC Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, are boosting production to meet growing demand for chips used to make DVD players, cellular phones and flat-panel TVs.
The book-to-bill ratio of chip-making equipment, a three-month average benchmark index that shows the ratio of orders to actual sales, was 1.62. That was the highest level since June 2002, when the ratio was 1.92, the association said. A BB ratio higher than 1.00 means shipments are likely to rise because sales lag orders by about six months.
Sales of Japanese-made equipment to make semiconductors rose 80.6 percent last month to ?112.7 billion for the third straight month of increases, the group said.
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