This month, SEMI reported that for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, worldwide photovoltaic manufacturing equipment book-to-bill ratio remained below parity, at 0.61, for the eleventh consecutive quarter. Bookings levels improved some in the quarter to reach the highest value since the first quarter of 2012.
Worldwide bookings, which represent net new orders for PV manufacturing equipment, improved 112 percent in Q4’13 compared to the previous quarter and were up 6 percent year-over-year. Worldwide billings improved 112 percent in Q4’13 versus Q3’13, but declined 14 percent on a year-over-year basis. Total billings for the full year 2013 dropped to $1.22 billion or a 49 percent decline from 2012 billings of $2.40 billion. Annual bookings in 2013 totaled just $736 million, which is 17 percent below 2012 bookings of $883 million. On the regional basis, equipment sales were dominated by Asia. For the full year of 2013, Asia represented about 78 percent of total billings.
