(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- “Economic Impact of Measurement in the Semiconductor Industry,” a recent report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology indicates that investment in measurement science has, and will continue to have, a dramatic effect on innovation, productivity, growth, and competitiveness in and among high technology sectors. Citing the semiconductor industry as a case in point, the analysis, prepared for NIST by RTI International (RTI), estimates that the $12 billion spent on advancing measurement capabilities during the decade beginning in 1996 will have saved that sector more than $51 billion in scrap and rework costs by 2011, a net benefit of approximately $39 billion.

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