[News] Silicon Motion Joins Micron’s Cautious Outlook, Predicts Weak DRAM and NAND Demand until 1H25

Following Micron’s lackluster February quarter outlook, which gives a heads up on the weak demand for PCs and smartphones, NAND Flash giant Silicon Motion shares similar views on the memory market. According to the Economic Daily News, the company warns that both NAND and DRAM will experience low demand for one to two more quarters.

Silicon Motion’s President Wallace C. Kou told the Economic Daily News that the memory demand will likely remain sluggish in the first half of 2025. In addition, the aggressive expansion of China’s memory leader, CXMT, would also cast a cloud over the market, posing challenges to Taiwanese companies like Nanya Technology and ADATA, as noted by the report.

Citing Kou, the report notes that CXMT has started mass production of DDR5 recently, which is expected to boost its market share from merely 2% to 10% by the end of 2024. As the company eyes to enter the mobile sector and aims to begin LPDDR5 mass production in 2025, its overall market share is likely to further increase to 15% by then, the report adds.

Another report from the Chosun Daily notes that while China took six years to match South Korea’s DDR4 production capabilities, CXMT achieved the transition to DDR5 in just four years after entering the South Korean market. This rapid progress, as per the report, could pose significant challenges for industry leaders Samsung and SK hynix.

Notably, the U.S. chip export curbs might have only limited impact on Chinese memory makers if they only sell domestically, as per the Economic Daily News. Meanwhile, if overseas memory giants don’t want to give up this market, they would have no choice but engage in the price competition.

According to the Economic Daily News, Chinese memory manufacturers often offer prices that are at least 10% to 20% lower than their competitors in South Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

Regarding NAND Flash, Kuo told the Economic Daily News that the demand will remain relatively weak in the first half of 2025, while the industry is projected to experience significant growth again in 2026.

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(Photo credit: Silicon Motion)