Prices of the most widely produced computer-memory chips fell as Micron Technology Inc, Hynix Semiconductor Inc and other makers raised production at the same time that orders from personal-computer makers slowed.
The spot price of the 256mb, 266mHz double-data-rate dynamic-random-access-memory chip, fell 0.2 percent on Thursday to US$6.19, bringing its losses in the last seven days to 4 percent, according to Taiwan-based online semiconductor trading site dramexchange.com.
"Inventories moving down from DRAM makers to distributors and traders are pulling down DDR prices," the exchange said in its weekly market outlook. Dramexchange forecast the chip price will trade between US$6.35 and US$6.00 in the next week.
Chip prices normally peak at the end of the third and fourth quarters as PC makers place orders in preparation for their biggest sales season, which comes during the end-of-year holidays.
Chip prices usually fall at the beginning of the year.
Companies such as Micron Technology, the world's No. 2 computer memory-chip maker, are trying to shift production from older synchronous dynamic-random-access-memory chips to DDR chips, which accept and send data at twice the speed.
The shift comes as PC makers, trying to persuade consumers to trade up to newer models, demand improvements in the performance of components.
The majority of the chips, which are produced in the millions per month, are sold through long-term contracts, which companies typically don't disclose.
Dramexchange forecasts 256mb DDR contract chip prices will be unchanged at between US$7.25 and US$6.50 in the coming week.
One consequence of the move to new chips has been a rally in the price of older technology as supply shrinks. The price of the 256mb, 133mHz synchronous DRAM chip price rose 0.8 percent to US$3.63 Thursday, leaving it up 66 percent from its annual low on Sept. 26.
Previous to the recent rally, synchronous DRAM chips traded at below the price of production for most of 2002 because of oversupply.
SDRAM prices will probably rise further, aided by demand and speculation, the exchange said. "Prices will rise due to major conversion into DDR and decreasing SDRAM supply." The exchange predicted an increase in demand from Asian markets ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in early February.
SDRAM chips are still widely used in lower priced, lower performance machines popular in China and other emerging personal- computer markets
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last