DRAM contract prices fall in 2H August, says DRAMeXchange

Jessie Shen, 12 September 2012

Late August 2012 contract prices for DRAM memory fell further to reflect continued weak PC sales, according to DRAMeXchange. Holding eight to 12 weeks of DRAM inventory, PC OEMs procured significantly less chips than expected during August, the memory price tracker said.

Contract prices for 4GB DDR3 modules averaged US$18 in the second half of August, down 4%, while average quotes for 2GB parts slipped 2.4% to US$10.25, DRAMeXchange disclosed.

With prices falling at a faster rate, major DRAM producers have allocated more capacity for mobile DRAM and server-use memory products in order to mitigate the adverse impact, Ken Kuo, assistant VP for DRAMeXchange, said in a statement. Second-tier makers, however, will have to brace for further losses as chip prices have crashed down below their cash cost of production, Kuo noted.

Nanya Technology recently reiterated plans to move its business focus from PC DRAM to specialty DRAM and other niche-market memory chips. Nanya expects sales of its non-PC DRAM products to account for more than 60% of company revenues by the end of 2012.

Powerchip Technology is another Taiwan-based DRAM maker looking to pursue growth in other industry segments. Powerchip has gradually expanded its foundry business with sufficient 12-inch fab capacity, which has attracted contract-manufacturing orders for NOR flash and non-memory products such as LCD driver ICs and image sensors.