TrendForce Reports DRAM Module Industry Posted a 10% Decline in Annual Sales Revenue for 2015

The sales revenue of DRAM module worldwide for 2015 was around US$7.9 billion, representing a decrease of 10% compared with the 2014 figure, according to the latest revenue ranking of DRAM module makers by DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. The decline in the 2015 revenue was mainly attributed to the falling PC DRAM prices and the shrinking of the DIY market.

“The DRAM industry was hit hard by the oversupply problem in the PC market through 2015,” said Avril Wu, research director of DRAMeXchange. “Microsoft’s attempt to factor in the amount of memory in a PC to the calculation of Windows 10 license fee also made the situation worse. There was no significant growth in the consumption of PC DRAM, and notebooks’ average DRAM content per box even dropped 1% compared with the previous year.”

Wu added that the DRAM prices on the whole were on a downtrend in 2015, with the spot market suffering larger declines compared with the contract market. “DRAM module makers were the first to face the impact of falling spot prices,” said Wu. “Many of them took a big hit in their revenues.”

Kingston topped the 2015 global revenue ranking while Ramaxel and ADATA were respective leaders in China and Taiwan

DRAMeXchange finds that 97% of the global DRAM module revenue in 2015 were generated by the world’s top ten manufacturers, while the top five accounted for as much as 87% of the global revenue. Dominant DRAM module makers are expected to gain even greater market shares in the future.

Kingston retained first place in the global ranking for 2015. Despite the average contract prices for PC DRAM fell by more than 30% compared with the previous year, Kingston managed to grow its annual DRAM module revenue by 4%. The U.S.-based module maker fared well against the market headwinds mainly because of increasing sales to PC-OEMs. At the same time, the company added more DRAM-related product lines. Kingston has also established a foothold in China’s eMCP market and succeeded in entering supply chains of Chinese smartphone OEMs. The module maker is now setting its sights on the country’s first-tier smartphone brands.

Ramaxel remained first place in China but fell to third place globally in 2015. Ramaxel’s revenue dropped 30% compared with 2014 on account of falling DRAM prices, but the Chinese module maker had the support of Lenovo as a major client and invested in new product lines including eMCP solutions. In sum, Ramaxel still has room to grow in terms of revenue.

ADATA was still the revenue leader among Taiwanese DRAM module makers in 2015, even though the company had adjusted its strategy to give more weight to NAND Flash products.

“Due to the contraction of the spot market, DRAM module makers had to find new blue ocean opportunities to maintain their revenues in 2015,” Wu pointed out. “Kingston focused on the smartphone market in 2015 after finding success in the contract market in the year before. Kingston is now very active in e-sport/gaming market and has been quick to seize emerging market trends for DRAM modules.”

Other module makers are either looking at strategic products or adjusting their portfolios to give more weight to NAND Flash-related products. High-margin and niche market segments that DRAM module makers are going to pay more attention to in the near future include industrial applications, e-sport/gaming and overclocking communities.