Global chip equipment November sales up 0.3 percent yr/yr

TOKYO (Reuters) - Global sales of microchip-making equipment in November rose for the first time in 10 months, an industry group said on Thursday, as a recent recovery in orders and plant usage rates started boosting actual shipments.

November sales gained 0.3 percent from a year earlier to US$2.25 billion, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) said.

"Things are definitely looking up in the semiconductor market," an SEAJ spokesman said.

The SEAJ compiles the monthly data with another industry group, California-based Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI).

SEMI said in December that global microchip sales will likely rise 9.1 percent in 2006, followed by two years of double-digit growth as chip makers invest aggressively in advanced production plants.

In the latest sign of microchip makers stepping up capital spending, Japan's Fujitsu said on Wednesday it would spend US$1 billion to build a new semiconductor plant to process cost-efficient 300mm silicon wafers.

Following are November chip equipment sales figures (in million dollars, with percentage change from year earlier in parentheses):

Value year/year

Japan 578.608 (+13.8)

N. America 324.060 (-20.7)

Europe 277.851 (+9.8)

S. Korea 371.145 (+57.6)

Taiwan 388.445 (-31.7)

China 98.780 (+70.0)

Others 209.987 (+0.4)

OVERALL 2,248.876 (+0.3)