Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International said that revenue shipments for worldwide chip equipment manufactures were down 19 percent sequentially in Q2, and down 21 percent year over year.

The Silicon Valley-based trade group said that worldwide billings, or product shipments for which revenue has been recognized, came to $7.58 billion for equipment and materials suppliers in Q2 of this year. That figure is based on data gathered in cooperation with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) from more than 150 global equipment companies that provide data on a monthly basis, according to SEMI.

Worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment reached $16.9 billion in the first half of 2005, which is about ten percent below the billings level posted for the first half of 2004, according to the group.

"The year-to-date performance is consistent with the recent SEMI member consensus survey that indicated expectations for worldwide equipment sales to reach about $33 billion this year following the very strong equipment sales in 2004," Stan Myers, president and CEO of SEMI, said in a statement.

The quarterly billings data by region in millions of U.S. dollars, year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter growth rates by region are as follows: