Prices of computer memory chips may rebound during the first quarter of next year as chipmakers cut production to cope with the drastic price corrections of the past few months, Taipei-based market researcher DRAMeXchange said last week.
Taiwanese chipmakers, well-known for their strong cost-saving ability, are now under pressure from price erosion after a 50-percent decline in prices pushed them into the red, or to the brink of losses during the second quarter of this year.
Following the third quarter recovery, prices for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips started on a downward trend again, according to DRAMeXchange.
Contract prices for banker double-data-rate (DDR) DRAM modules have fallen 22 percent since September when compared to the previous three months, the researcher said in a statement.
The price for DDR2, which processes data faster dipped by about 32 percent, it said.
"Faced with the prospect of further price drops, DRAM chipmakers started cutting back production," DRAMeXchange said.
Last month, the annual growth for total DRAM output slowed to around 2.65 percent, compared with around a 10-percent increase for September and October, respectively, the research house said.
Combined with a lack of supplies, lower chip prices have stimulated unusually strong demand this month, which used to be a slow month as computer vendors traditionally reduce their inventory dramatically after the annual Christmas shopping spree ends, the report noted.
"That indicates that contract prices are hitting the bottom and there is a chance they may rebound," the research house said.
DRAM chipmakers attempted to inflate the contract price slightly for the second half of this month in light of improved spot prices, but most of them got flat deals, researcher said.
Some still managed to raise prices and extended the price negotiations with their US customers ahead of the Christmas holidays, the researcher added.
Despite the bumpy road toward price hikes, most DRAM makers held an optimistic attitude about the market, according to DRAMeXchange's survey.
They planned to raise prices for the first half of next month and prices would be sustainable during the first half of the first quarter of next year, the researcher said.
The contract price for the benchmark 256-megabit, 400-megahertz DDR DRAM chip was unchanged at US$1.98 from last month, according to the report.
The spot price for the benchmark DRAM chip fell nearly 20 percent to US$2.1 on Friday from an average of US$2.6 in the third quarter.
DRAM makers such as Taiwan's second-largest memory chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
UNCERTAINTY: A final ruling against the president’s tariffs would upend his trade deals and force the government to content with billions of dollars in refunds The legal fight over US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs is deepening after a federal appeals court ruled the levies were issued illegally under an emergency law, extending the chaos in global trade. A 7-4 decision by a panel of judges on Friday was a major setback for Trump, even as it gives both sides something to boast about. The majority upheld a May ruling by the Court of International Trade that the tariffs were illegal. However, the judges left the levies intact while the case proceeds, as Trump had requested, and suggested that any injunction could potentially be narrowed to apply
RSS