Insights
In the spot market, DRAM prices are showing a slight divergence from the contract market. Spot demand has decreased, preventing further price increases for DRAM chips. Meanwhile, NAND Flash prices have been rising due to ongoing wafer shortage. However, spot quotations for NAND Flash packaged dies remain stable due to uncertain demand visibility.
DRAM Spot Market
The price trend of the spot market diverges slightly from that of the contract market. Recently, demand has dropped in the spot market. Even though DRAM suppliers and module houses have been passive in offering price concessions, there also has been no noticeable increase in demand. Furthermore, there is growing sentiment in the spot market that waiting for further developments is the best option. Hence, spot prices of DRAM chips have not been able to rise further. As for modules, their spot prices have experienced limited fluctuations because Kingston, as the leading module house, is unwilling to raise quotes due to its high inventory level. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) rose by 1.69% from US$1.600 last week to US$1.627 this week.
NAND Flash Spot Market
The spot market, due to continuous shortages in recent wafer supply, has been experiencing rising prices under a shrinking volume, while spot quotations for NAND Flash packaged dies have been oscillating narrowly in quotations on account of the persistently constrained level of visibility in demand. Follow ups on market prices can still be seen among products involved in production cuts of suppliers, whereas other products are fluctuating according to market demand. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 6.94% this week, arriving at US$2.464.
In-Depth Analyses
DRAM Spot Market
In the spot market, prices have been rising noticeably in the recent period, and demand has also rebounded marginally. Also, because the supply of rebelled used chips has shrunk slightly, price hikes have been most significant for chips belonging to the bottom of the price range. On the other hand, spot buyers have become somewhat hesitant in the past two or so days because the price hikes are too rapid. They are now less willing to accept higher prices than before. Since the overall demand for DRAM products has yet to turn around, spot prices are expected to continue to fluctuate. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) rose by 0.13% from US$1.498 last week to US$1.500 this week.
NAND Flash Spot Market
A price increase is seen among finished products, including memory cards, USB flash drives, and eMMC, from the spot market recently due to the diminished supply of wafers, which resulted in a significant rebound in spot quotations for NAND Flash. With that being said, buyers are not all that willing to follow up with the corresponding prices that had a significant jump within a short period and have slightly stagnated in procurement. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have climbed at 3.96% this week, arriving at US$1.757.
Insights
DRAM Spot Market:
The spot market has shown no demand turnaround this week, so prices there are stagnant. Unlike the situation in the contract market, suppliers are not collectively attempting to moderate the price decline in the spot market due to the lack of a notable rebound in the sales of consumer electronics. Also, high inventories held by module houses are keeping spot prices on a downward trajectory. On the whole, spot prices of DDR4 and DDR5 products continue to show daily drops. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) fell by 0.07% from US$1.461 last week to US$1.460 this week.
NAND Flash Spot Market:
The spot market is seen with a recovery of purchase willingness this week due to the power outage at SK hynix, though TrendForce’s survey confirms that the particular incident has not yielded any impact towards market supply. Low-priced transactions no longer exist among spot prices of NAND Flash after suppliers’ significant drop of production in 2H23, and the declination that lasted for several consecutive weeks is now halted. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 0.28% this week, arriving at US$1.440.
Insights
DRAM Spot Market:
Continuing from the previous week, the influx of used chips that were stripped from decommissioned server DRAM modules is still causing spot prices of DDR4 products to drop. As for DDR5 products, there is no such issue affecting their supply. However, module houses are holding a high level of inventory for DDR5 products because they stocked up aggressively in 2Q23, while the actual demand remains in a slump. Hence, spot prices on the whole have kept falling. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666 MT/s) dropped by 0.74% from US$1.479 last week to US$1.468 this week.
NAND Flash Spot Market:
The spot market has been lingering at sluggish transactions since July under feeble inquiries between market participants. Fortunately, the reduction of spot prices has somewhat mitigated over the past two weeks due to suppliers’ continuous intention in an on-going production cut and price increment. Certain components have not seen a further drop in prices after a consolidation at the low end, though the level of transactions remains at a rather insignificant extent, and the continuity of purchases will require further observations. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 1.21% this week, arriving at US$1.421.
Insights
DRAM Spot Market:
Unlike the contract market, the spot market still shows daily drops mainly due to the influx of used chips that were stripped from decommissioned server DRAM modules. Since the demand situation has yet to turn around, spot prices on the whole continue to slide. There are no indications of a rebound in the near future. Regarding the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s), their average spot price fell by 0.67% from US$1.492 last week to US$1.482 this week.
NAND Flash Spot Market:
The NAND Flash spot market has yet to recover from its sluggishness since the end of June, and suppliers are still lingering under heavy sales pressure with no aggressive purchases due to the absence of peak season demand from Europe and America that was previously anticipated. These aforementioned stocking dynamics have led to an increase of 0.14% in 512Gb TLC wafer spots this week, arriving at US$1.404.