The 2001 Top 10 list of semiconductor tool companies also shows suppliers of automatic test equipment getting hammered hard by the industry's recession last year. Boston-based Teradyne Inc., for example, fell completely out of VLSI Research's Top 10, from last year's No.4 spot. Japan's Advantest Corp slipped from No.7 to 10 as its sales plunged 50.5% in 2001 from the previous year (see table below).

Overall, the Top 10 semiconductor equipment companies did better than the entire industry of chip-making tool suppliers, said VLSI Research. The Top 10 companies saw their combined revenues drop 31% to $20.3 billion in 2001 from sales in 2000, compared to an industry wide decline of 38%, said the San Jose research firm.

The world's largest supplier of semiconductor tools--Applied Materials Inc.--remained solidly at the top, but it's 37.3% decline to $6.455 billion in 2001 from $10.303 billion in 2000 was the steepest outside of automatic test equipment suppliers. Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) repeated as No. 2 with a 30.8% drop to $3.557 billion, and lithography giant Nikon Corp. of Japan was again No. 3 with a 26.5% decline in sales to $1.928 billion last year, said VLSI Research.

One of the biggest gainers in the Top 10 ranking was metrology supplier KLA-Tencor Corp., which only had a 13.7% decline in revenues to $1.685 billion in 2001 vs. $1.953 billion in 2000. That was the lowest level of decline among the Top 10 and enough to move the San Jose company from No.6 to No.4 in VLSI Research's annual ranking.

Lithography supplier ASML Holding N.V. of the Netherlands held steady at No.5, partly because of its acquisition of Silicon Valley Group Inc. in 2001. ASML's total revenues (including SVG sales from the time the purchase was completed in May) dropped 23.5% to $1.544 billion in 2001 vs. $2.016 billion, said VLSI Research.

Another lithography giant, Canon Inc. of Japan, climbed up to No.6 from No.9 in 2001 with its sales dropping just 20% to $1.135 billion last year vs. $1.418 billion in 2000, according to VLSI Research.

In addition to the severe downturn in capital spending last year, accounting rule changes also played a factor in lowering some equipment sales totals. "During 2001, most public companies implemented Staff Accounting Bulletin No.101 (SAB 101)," noted the San Jose market research firm. "This new accounting rule states that semiconductor must now report revenues on the basis of when the tool is accepted by the customer instead of when it ships."

Lithography systems suppliers "performed better than other equipment manufacturers in 2001," said VLSI Research. "Their combined shipments decreased 24% from 2000 compared to 57.3% for test manufacturers and 34.7% for other wafer processing equipment manufacturers."

In addition to Teradyne's departure from the Top 10 in 2001, Lam Research Corp. of Fremont, Calif., also fell out of the ranking from its No.8 spot in 2000, said VLSI Research.

Top chip tool suppliers in 2001

2001 ranking	2000 ranking	Company	2001 sales	2000 sales	% change
1	1	Applied	$6.455 billion	$10.303 billion	-37.3%
2	2	TEL	$3.557 billion	$5.142 billion	-30.8%
3	3	Nikon	$1.928 billion	$2.623 billion	-26.5%
4	6	KLA-Tencor	$1.685 billion	$1.953 billion	-13.7%
5	5	ASML	$1.544 billion	$2.016 billion	-23.5%
6	9	Canon	$1.135 billion	$1.418 billion	-20.0%
7	10	Dainippon Screen	$1.056 billion	$1.390 billion	-24.0%
8	11	Novellus	$1.016 billion	$1.304 billion	-24.7%
9	12	Hitachi	$982 million	$1.304 billion	-24.7%
10	7	Advantest	$924 million	$1.865 billion	-50.5%
Source: VLSI Research Inc.