PC DRAM chip prices are expected to climb 3 percent sequentially this quarter, as reduced output from Micron Technology Inc’s local operations aggravate a shortage, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said.
A nitrogen supply disruption on March 20 at Taichung-based Micron Memory Taiwan Co (台灣美光) fab has affected chip manufacturing, but operations are expected to be fully restored this month, the Taipei-based researcher said.
“A nitrogen supply issue at Micron Memory Taiwan could prolong current tight supplies in the DRAM market and is expected to push up contract prices of PC DRAM chips by 3 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with the first quarter,” TrendForce said in a report on Tuesday.
Photo: Reuters
The nitrogen supply disruption was caused by a gas generation system malfunction.
Pennsylvania-based Air Products and Chemicals Inc, which supplies the gas generation equipment, has recalled the system to the US for repair, the report said.
The Micron fab primarily produces PC DRAM, server DRAM, low-power DDR4 DRAM and graphics DRAM chips, the report said.
Micron confirmed on March 23 that a supplier experienced a maintenance issue on March 20 which is disrupting the supply of nitrogen to one of Micron’s Taiwan DRAM fabs.
The company reacted quickly to identify and execute on a plan to minimize potential impact to the business and estimates that the fab will return to full production next week.
TrendForce expects the interruption to deal an even a bigger blow to the graphics DRAM market as supply has been scarce for a while.
The latest price hikes follow a 5 percent quarterly increase for the mainstream PC DRAM, DDR4 4GB modules last quarter as chip supply continued to be tight.
The average cost of DDR4 4GB modules on a contract basis was US$33 per unit last quarter.
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the nation’s biggest DRAM chipmaker, is one of the major beneficiaries of the prolonged price upturn.
A 35 percent year-on-year increase in DRAM prices last year helped boost Nanya Technology’s net profit to an all-time high of NT$40.29 billion (US$1.38 billion), which included a disposal gain of NT$32.15 billion after the sale of its stake in Micron.
Nanya Technology on Tuesday saw its share price jump 16.5 percent to NT$90.60 in Taipei trading, outperforming the TAIEX, which rose 1.04 percent.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
RSS