The Semiconductor Industry Association has 65 members all of whose businesses rely on hard and fast information about the shape of chip sales to come. So our readers who are in the semiconductor market but not members of the august body will be mighty glad to hear that according to the SIA, the global chip market will grow by 17 per cent next year, with total sales likely to be around the $232 billion mark by the time the Millenium Bomb explodes. This all amounts to one thing -- recovery and growth -- the SIA predicts. According to the group, DRAM is on the way back, pushed by the Internet, new applications for PCs (a version of Office that needs 64MB?) and lots of activity in the consumer market. The SIA says that global sales in 1998 will be $23.4 billion more than this year. The SIA says that the MOS memory market (including DRAM) fell 33 per cent last year, but only 15.5 per cent this. Sales are likely to rise sharply, however, from now until 2000. The microprocessor and DSP market will average 20 per cent growth. As if to confirm all this good news, the SIA last week said that chip sales grew to $11.8 billion in September, representing the highest total in 19 months and 15 per cent better than last September. This has nothing to do with El Nino. September 1997 is the fifth consecutive month where sales have grown. Across the world, the Americas showed a 20 per cent increase, Asia Pacific 22.4 per cent and Europe 15.7 per cent. ® Ahem... one year later, after the worst year ever... the SIA is predicting the same thing...