DRAM contract prices fall 5-6% in 2H September, says DRAMeXchange

Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Tuesday 2 October 2012]

Contract prices for DRAM memory fell by another 5-6% in the second half of September, reflecting continued weak end-market demand, according to DRAMeXchange.

Average contract prices for 4GB DDR3 memory modules declined 5.8% to US$16.25 in the latter half of September, while those for 2GB parts slid 5.1% to US$9.25, data collected by DRAMeXchange revealed. Prices have been decreasing since July.

The continued price drops were caused by sluggish notebook shipments as well as disappointing PC sales thus far in the second half of 2012, despite the arrival of several new products running on Microsoft's Windows 8 OS, DRAMeXchange indicated.

With prices falling at a faster pace, DRAMeXchange pointed out that the DRAM market was weaker-than-expected in the third quarter. Oversupply still persists despite the the traditional peak season, the price tracker indicated.

In addition, DRAMeXchange estimated that PCs will account for 45% of the DRAM market in 2012. The proportion will slip further to 35% in 2013, DRAMeXchange said. With the market for PC DRAM seeing its first bit shipment drop, the oversupply situation should improve substantially in 2013, DRAMeXchange believes.