Contract prices of server DRAM are expected to fall by more than 20% QoQ in 1Q19, steeper than the previous forecast of 15%, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. The demand outlook remains weak due to high inventory levels and seasonal headwinds. Moreover, uncertainties brought by the China-U.S. trade war would also lead to conservative demand.
The overall price trend in the DRAM market has been stable in December, showing no noticeable change from November, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. Clients in North America and Europe were taking a break during the year-end holiday season, so the quantities of DRAM products traded in December were too small to be considered in the survey of contract prices. With regard to contract prices of mainstream products, the monthly average of 8GB modules is staying roughly at US$60, while that of 4GB modules is around US$30. However, for both 8GB and 4GB ones, their monthly lows have already dropped below their respective US$60 and US$30 thresholds.
Experiencing an oversupply over the entire year of 2018, the global NAND Flash market continues to face excess capacity this year as the demand outlook for notebooks, smartphones, servers and other end products remains weak, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. NAND Flash manufacturers have slowed down the capacity expansion by cutting capex in 2019, aiming to moderate the oversupply by limiting the bit output growth.
According to the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, increasing penetration of UHD display panels has driven the consumption of driver IC in the past few years. The total consumption grew by 8.4% YoY in 2018, but the growth would slow down to 3% this year due to technology variation in designs of large-size panels and falling shipments of small-size panels.
After contract prices of DRAM products turned downward sharply in 4Q18 by 10% QoQ, major DRAM manufacturers have tried to offset fall in prices by slowing down capacity expansion in 2019, as the demand outlook for PCs, servers, smartphones, and other end consumer products remains weak, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce.