TrendForce Corp., a global market intelligence firm, announced today (January 22) that it has become the majority shareholder of Topology Research Institute, with all the controlling stakeholder’s operating rights entailed. Kevin Lin, the CEO of TrendForce, will also hold the title of Chairman of Topology. Topology’s operations, brand, and managing staff will be under the same business model after the merger.
The price for PC DRAM has not been set for January, though it is unlikely that the month-on-month price decline will exceed 6%, according to the newest price report from DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. The price for mobile DRAM has come out steady and there is no sign of decline.
DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, indicates U.S. NAND flash vendors are being less aggressive on price since the financial quarter has come to a close. As module makers expect the price trend will continue declining and they have ample inventory, the majority are waiting until the end of the month to begin price negotiations.
2014 has been a fruitful year for the DRAM industry. Tier-one manufacturers, benefiting from the global smartphone boom, have all stepped up mobile memory production. According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, mobile memory will account for 36 percent of overall DRAM production this year and is very likely to surpass 40 percent of production in 2015.
The shrinking NAND Flash production costs resulting from the NAND Flash industry's improving technology are expected to boost demand for various end products, including SSDs and eMMCs, according to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce. NAND Flash industry value is expected to rise consistently in 2015, reaching as high as US$ 27.6 billion on annual growth of 12%.
