DRAMeXchange, a division of global research firm TrendForce, reports that the decline in mobile DRAM prices eased in the fourth quarter of 2015. By comparison, PC DRAM suffered a 16% quarterly price decline during the same period. Since the second half of 2015 was the traditional strong season for smartphone shipments, the mobile DRAM industry saw its global revenue fell by a mere 1% in the final quarter.
The global DRAM industry posted US$10.27 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015, representing a 9.1% drop from the prior quarter, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. The revenue decline was attributed to the falling DRAM average selling prices and the persistent market oversupply.
The latest report from DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reveals that the average contract price for DDR3 4GB was down 6.15% in January compared with the prior month. The average contract price of DDR4 4GB in January was down 8.82% from December and closing in on the prices of DDR3.
Aiming to enhance the efficiency of OEM system products and widen the lead over trailing competitors in the SSD market, Intel plans to ship its next-generation SSD memory products in the third quarter of 2016. The new products, which are sold under the name “Optane,” will be based on a new non-volatile memory technology known as 3D XPoint. Moreover, their shipments will also complement the release of Kaby Lake, the successor to Skylake processor platform.
DRAM prices have fallen throughout this year due to weak demand and oversupply, with decline in PC DRAM prices being the most significant. The latest analysis from DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, finds that the overall production capacity has not increased significantly under the current oligopoly in the DRAM market.
