An Atos spokeswoman said the French company was assessing more people than its contractual agreement stipulated and was reducing the backlog month-by-month.
I.B.M.'s new line of Regatta Unix computers, which began shipping in December, have an order backlog through March.
The order backlog for January was $1.77 billion, down from December's $1.80 billion.
Many will still be in the backlog on Nov. 8.
But even getting past the backlog, the May report adds to other disappointing housing-related data.
When a Tokyo Metallic ad campaign last year generated more than 200 new orders a day, Mr. Kawamura said, N.T.T. said it could handle only 200 a week, leaving Tokyo Metallic with a 10,000-order backlog by Dec. 31.
Under the agreement, the state would eliminate the backlog by January and would pay $17.50 for each day after the deadline set for each inmate's hearing, to start 45 days after the missed deadline.
But still its backlog on Dec. 31, 2004 was $111 billion, down $9 billion from the year before.
Ploehn had pledged to take steps to reduce the backlog in June, after the death of a 2-year-old whose family was under investigation by her department.
Although the VA has made progress in reducing the backlog since March, it's been largely through a massive infusion of overtime work and the slowing pace of new claims, rather than a sudden burst of competence in the department.
Scottish Power told Ofgem that it met the backlog target in December, but in January Ofgem and Ombudsman Services uncovered evidence that showed this was not the case.
