SAN JOSE— North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers reversed course in December, posting a 28.6% sequential increase in orders.

The book-to-bill ratio jumped 13 basis points to 0.92, attaining its highest level since a 0.93 mark in June. A book-to-bill of 0.92 means that $92 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

Bookings, which are compiled on a three-month moving average, reached their highest point since August.

For the month, the industry reported $924.1 million in orders worldwide in December, SEMI said, up 28.6% over the revised November 2012 levels. Still, sales were down 16.2% from December 2011.

The three-month average worldwide billings was $1.01 billion, up 10.6% from the revised November level and down 22.6% from a year ago.

Source: SEMI, January 2013