August saw a massive 22 per cent jump in chip sales, way ahead of the 3.5 per cent growth seen in July. Latest figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) value the 22 per cent hike at just shy of $12 billion. The Japanese and Asian markets saw the strongest gains, rising 31.7 per cent and 30.1 per cent respectively against last year's sales. Europe and North America recorded more modest, yet steady year-on-year growth of 9.9 per cent and 18.1 per cent respectively. George Scalise, president of the SIA, said: " This acceleration in growth is another strong indicator that the industry is sustaining the upturn that started in mid-1998." The growth figures seen this summer were among the biggest since 1995, Scalise went on to say. The PC industry remains the semiconductor industry's number one customer, and with demand for PCs set to rise by 25 per cent in the third quarter of 1999, according to figures from IDC, this is a trend which looks set to continue. ®