SEMI releases Q3 2011 worldwide PV equipment market statistics report

SAN JOSE, USA: SEMI, the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chain for the micro- and nano-electronics industries, reported that for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, the worldwide photovoltaic manufacturing equipment book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.35, reaching its lowest level since the start of the data collection in the first quarter of 2010.

Worldwide billings declined 24 percent from the previous quarter to $1.6 billion. Worldwide bookings, which represent net new orders of PV manufacturing equipment, extended the declining trend started in the first quarter of 2011, tumbling another 70 percent for the quarter.Source: SEMI, USA.

The deteriorating billings and bookings data underscores the overall softening in the global PV industry. After aggressive capital equipment spending across the entire supply chain that characterized 2010 and the early part of 2011, many PV manufacturers have cancelled or put on hold their capacity expansion plans, as challenging market conditions and poor visibility into market expectations continue to overshadow the industry outlook into next year. The expectation is that bookings will not significantly improve in the next six months without policy adjustments in Europe, Japan and China, combined with easing of credit markets and improved economic growth.

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 data on a quarterly basis.