Orders for Japanese chipmaking equipment drop 42.4 %
Manufacturers' stepped-up marketing efforts toward the end of the April-September fiscal first half failed to boost order receipts, while recovery was weak in orders for equipment to make logic integrated circuits, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said. It added that the downtrend might continue for two or three months.
By product, orders for wafer-processing equipment, including steppers and etching machines, decreased 43.2% to 77.5 billion yen. Orders for testing equipment dropped 34.9% to 22.4 billion yen.The association also said global sales of Japanese-made chipmaking equipment in the same month grew 7.0% to 189.4 billion yen, increasing for the 17th consecutive month. Sales of wafer-processing equipment rose 12.8 % to 131 billion yen, while those of testing equipment declined 11.8 % to 28.5 billion yen.