Global market research firm TrendForce held its IT Industry Forecast for 2017 on November 10 in Room 101 of National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) International Convention Center. Below is a summary of presentations made by our analysts at the event’s morning session:
DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports the average contract price of 4GB PC DRAM modules increased over 20% between September and October from US$14.5 to US$17.5 as DRAM suppliers completed their fourth-quarter contract negotiations with first-tier PC-OEMs. Spot prices of DDR3 and DDR4 4Gb chips also rose 17% to 24% respectively in October compared with the prior month to US$2.46 and US$2.48 on average. This strong showing indicates that the DRAM market outlook is rosy and further price increases are expected in the future.
Major U.S. chip maker Qualcomm has finally acquired Holland-based NXP Semiconductors for US$47 billion. As the recent trend of deal-making in the global semiconductor sector continues unabated, this deal will further intensify the competition among major industry participants. According to the global market research firm TrendForce, Qualcomm will encounter new business opportunities and major challenges following its tie-up with NXP.
Numerous major participants in the global semiconductor sector are engaging in deal-making to make themselves larger and more competitive. As a result, different industries within the sector will be controlled by fewer companies in the future.
Global market research firm TrendForce reports the production volume of smartphones worldwide totaled around 350 million units in the third quarter of 2016. This figure represents a sequential quarterly increase of 10.4%, which is a new high for the year.