According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the future DRAM contract prices are expected to trend upwards due to the production shortages resulting from the Wuxi plant's fire accident and the uncertainties surrounding its recovery period. The price uptrend is expected to persist in spite of the economic downturn and the market's underwhelming peak quarter performances.
According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the fire accident experienced by SK Hynix's Wuxi plant has led to a sudden surge in market demand. The spot market prices for mainstream PC DRAM 2Gb chips have soared by a whopping 36% since the day of the fire (the calculation is based on the chip's agreed price of $US 2.18 on 9/24). A growth of at least 10%, it is worth noting, is also expected for the soon-to-be-announced September contract prices. Given that SK Hynix was originally the supplier with the highest market share in the graphics memory market (leading both Samsung and Micron), a major shortage in graphics DRAM (for instance, DDR3x16, GDDR3, and GDDR5) has inevitably occurred. The Taiwanese companies with noticeable, though much lower, shares in this market include Nanya and Winbond.
According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the market penetration rate for USB 3.0 flash drives may only be 10% in 2013, which is weaker than expected.
