The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said late yesterday that sales of chips in January reached $11.10 billion worldwide. That demonstrates that the market, troubled by the falling price of DRAM over the last few years, is on the up and up, the SIA suggested. The rise, however, only reflects 1.2 per cent growth from January last year. Sales in Europe and Asia Pacific showed stronger growth compared to last year, at 2.8 per cent and 9.1 per cent respectively. However, those rises were offset by drops in both the Americas and Japanese market at 2.7 per cent and 2.6 per cent. Most chip (and especially DRAM) manufacturers are hoping that this year will show better growth. ®