Worldwide mobile DRAM revenue increased by 6% to US$3.46 billion in the third quarter, representing 29% of DRAM industry value, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce. As global DRAM supply remains tight, despite a slight decline in mobile memory prices, industry value still rose in the third quarter on the back of increased bit output.
The contract price uptrend that persisted for almost half a year in the DRAM market has officially ended this month, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce. The average contract prices for DDR3 4GB modules dropped an estimated 3.1% in in the first half of November, ending at around US$ 31.75, while the highest contract prices fell from US$33.5 to US$32, showing a drop of 4.5%.
China's GDP showed tremendous growth over the years thanks to the country's positive market developments and economic policies. The business potential of the country's massive consumer market also grew as PC, smartphone, and tablet manufacturers began setting their sights on the country.
Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, the world’s top three global memory manufacturers, boosted production capacity in the third quarter to meet Apple’s immense demand for mobile memory as it launched the iPhone 6, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce. The reduction in commodity DRAM production caused contract prices to rise, and commodity memory products had the highest margins in the third quarter.
EMMC, eMCP and SSD growth was higher on average in the third quarter than in the first half of the year on the back of robust demand for the iPhone 6 and healthy OEM shipments. Additionally, NAND flash prices were stable, resulting in a 12.2% quarterly increase in suppliers’ earnings, bringing total NAND flash revenue to US$8.58 billion in the July-September period. Embedded products manufactured on next-generation process technology became mainstream in the market in the third quarter, improving vendors’ cost structure, said Sean Yang, assistant vice president of DRAMeXchange, a division of Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce.
