[Insights] Memory Spot Price Update: High Inventory and China’s Crackdown on Smuggling Cause DRAM Spot Price to Drop

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According to TrendForce’s latest memory spot price trend report, neither the spot price of DRAM nor that of NAND flash shows much sign of a turnaround in the short term. It is also worth noting that the Chinese government has been cracking down on smuggling activities since the end of May, putting more pressure on the spot prices of reball DRAM chips. Details are as follows:

DRAM Spot Price:

The price trend of the spot market continues to deviate from that of the contract market, showing no signs of a turnaround. Apart from module houses carrying too much inventory, channel markets for consumer products also remain weak and have yet to see the effects of the impending peak season. Furthermore, the Chinese government has been cracking down on smuggling activities in the spot market since the end of May. As a result, spot prices of reball DRAM chips continue to drop. A rebound is not expected in the short term. The average spot price of mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) has fallen by 2.54% from US$1.881 last week to US$1.835 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Price:

Enervated market transactions and sufficient inventory among channels have prevented a revitalization in demand from happening, despite spot suppliers’ willingness in compromising on prices. This has led to an ongoing divergence between spot and contract prices. Market participants are now on the fence regarding whether the market would exhibit demand for inventory replenishment in 3Q24. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have dropped by 0.57% this week, arriving at US$3.309.