The global market for analytical and life sciences instruments, including after-market products and services, will grow at a rate of 5.5% this year to reach $44.7 billion, according to the latest issue of the Instrument Business Outlook by Strategic Directions International (SDi; Los Angeles, CA). SDi said that the key drivers for market growth in 2012 will be demand for mass spectrometry capability and other instrumentation for surface science applications. The report, which estimates that the market grew at a rate of 7.1% in 2011, provides sales growth and market-share information for 10 categories of instrumentation: high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography; life science instruments, including sequencers and microarrays; mass spectrometry; laboratory automation systems; atomic spectroscopy; molecular spectroscopy; surface science techniques, such as microscopy; materials characterization techniques; general analytical techniques; and other laboratory equipment