For the entire 2Q14, global DRAM industry value reached US$10.8 billion, an increase of 9% compared to the previous quarter, according to DRAMeXchange, the memory and storage research division of TrendForce. The impressive scale of the industry’s value, along with the market's improved profitability, are the result of the DRAM manufacturers' effective product mix adjustments.
The majority of the contract prices for the third quarter has been settled in 2H'July, according to DRAMeXchange, the memory and storage research division of TrendForce. The average 4GB contract prices have reached US$32, a 4.92% increase compared to the same period a month ago, while the highest contract prices rose an estimated 6.45% to US$33.
According to DRAMeXchange, mobile DRAM prices have stabilized in the third quarter. All mobile memory product categories are showing a price decline of only less than 5%, with the majority of smartphone manufacturers purchasing mobile memory at the same price as in the previous quarter. As mobile DRAM prices have been continuously falling for over two years, the stabilization caused by peak season demand brings a sigh of relief for DRAM makers.
2013 PC DRAM global module market revenues arrived at US$ 7.3 billion, a 32% YoY increase from 2012’s $US 5.5 billion, according to DRAMeXchange, the memory and storage research division of TrendForce. The main factors leading to the revenue growth included price increases for PC DRAM, increased spot market demand, and the rising proportion of contract market transactions.
The memory storage industry is expected to see overall growth in the second half of this year driven primarily by smartphone demand. As this occurs, commodity DRAM capacity will be tight, which is expected to remain unchanged in the short term. This will bring increased demand for server as well as mobile DRAM during the second half of the year, and DRAM vendors as a result are likely to report record-high profits. In terms of the NAND Flash market, the market is expected to turn from oversupply in the first half of the year into balanced supply during the second half, as OEM and module customer demand strengthens. All of these factors will push up pricing in the industry during the second half as a result, according to DRAMeXchange, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce.
