SEMI releases third quarter 2012 worldwide photovoltaic equipment market statistics report

SEMI today reported the worldwide PV manufacturing equipment billings and bookings for the third quarter of 2012. Worldwide booking remained essentially flat in the third quarter when compared to the previous quarter. The $234 million in bookings is 56 percent below the third quarter of 2011. Worldwide billings declined to $609 million, down 13 percent from the previous quarter and 60 percent below the same quarter one year ago. While the book-to-bill ratio remained below parity for the sixth consecutive quarter, the ratio did improve to 0.38 given the flat bookings and the decline in billings. The worldwide PV equipment billings and bookings data is gathered jointly with the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) from about 50 global equipment companies that provide primary data on a quarterly basis. The SEMI Worldwide Photovoltaic Equipment Market Statistics Report is available by subscription. SEMI