Quarterly revenue in the world market of DRAM-memory reached a new historic maximum, DRAMeXchange reports, the analytical division of the research firm TrendForce.
According to experts, against the backdrop of a continuing deficit of operational memory and a limited increase in chip shipments, the cost of various types of DRAM products in July-September 2017 rose by an average of 5% compared to the previous quarter. This, as well as the traditional revival in the market in the second half of the year, contributed to a quarterly increase in sales of DRAM by 16.2%, to 19.18 billion dollars.
Director of DRAMeXchange research Avril Wu believes that in October-December the upward trend will continue, and the prices for DRAM will increase by an additional 10%.
"Analysis of the situation in the segment of mobile DRAM-memory shows that Samsung markedly increased the prices for its products. To provide the necessary volume of components, smartphone manufacturers have nothing else to do but accept new conditions. In the IV quarter, DRAM-memory for mobile devices can rise in price by another 10-20%, depending on the specifications and volume. As for the server DRAM, the increased demand will also spur its price by about 6-10% compared to the previous three-month period, "the expert noted..
According to the tradition introduced in the DRAMeXchange, the quarterly study provides a rating of the leading DRAM producers in terms of revenue. In the top three, as before, Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, followed by niche players from Taiwan - Nanya, Windbond and Powerchip.
Samsung's revenue from the sale of DRAM-products once again broke the record: increasing by 15.2%, on a quarterly basis, revenue reached 8.8 billion dollars, taking into account that the company's market share was 45.8%.
Even more pronounced progress was demonstrated by SK Hynix, which increased sales of DRAM-chips by 22.5%, bringing their volume to 5.5 billion dollars. Under the control of this South Korean chip maker, in the past quarter there were 28.7% of the market, and the total share with Samsung reached 74.5%.
Micron habitually settled on the third line with revenues of $ 4 billion and a share of 21%. Sales of DRAM products from the company grew by 13%.
The data presented by analysts indicate that the leaders of the DRAM market are gradually replacing Taiwanese players. Although Nanya, Windbond slightly increased revenue, Powerchip saw a decline of 3.6%. As a result, the total share of three chip makers fell from 2.4% in the second quarter of 2017 to 2.1% in the third.