COMPUTER-CHIP INDUSTRY SAW TURNAROUND IN MAY.

Byline: Associated Press 

A key computer chip industry indicator is on the rise as manufacturers enjoy an increase in orders after months of decline.

The Semiconductor Industry Association reported Tuesday that its May book-to-bill ratio was 0.84 in North, Central and South America, the largest market for chips. The figure means that chip manufacturers got $84 in new orders for every $100 worth of chips they shipped.

Meanwhile, April's ratio, initially reported at 0.79, was revised to 0.81, the SIA said.

``These are very positive developments. They suggest that the industry's first quarter doldrums are truly over,'' said Doug Andrey, the SIA's director of information systems and finance.

``We're still seeing a slight decline in billings, but that's a leftover from the weak bookings of the first quarter,'' he said.

The ratio has been below 1.0 - the dividing point between market growth and reduction - since the start of the year. It was 0.92 in January, 0.89 in February and 0.79 in March, the lowest since the trade group began keeping track nine years ago.

During May, new orders for semiconductors rose 0.5 percent, to $3.20 billion from $3.19 billion the month before. Revenues, however, were down 24.1 percent from May 1995, when the book-to-bill ratio was 1.18 percent.

Last month's billings were down 3.1 percent from April, $3.79 billion compared with $3.92 billion. However, the latest figure is 5.8 percent higher than a year ago, when billings were $3.58 billion - an indication that the market is stabilizing, Andrey said.