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Global industry association SEMI has reported that in Q4, ending December 2011, the PV manufacturing equipment book-to-bill ratio has gone from the previous quarter’s 0.35 to 0.53. The increase is due to a more tempered decline in bookings compared to the decline in billings.
Billings were subject to a steep decline of 44% in Q1 2010 while the worldwide new orders of PV manufacturing equipment decreased for yet another consecutive quarter by 14%. In Q4 2011, bookings were 81% lower than at the same time the previous year.
Equipment sales were dominated by Asian countries, making up 85% of all sales in 2011. Furthermore, there was a decline in total billings from US$6.4 billion in 2010 to US$6.2 billion in 2011. Uncertainties in the market led to production capacity exceeding demand significantly.
