DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports that the global NAND Flash market has stayed in oversupply since the traditional slow season in 1Q18, resulting in an average drop of 15~20% in NAND Flash contract prices in 2Q18. On the other hand, NAND Flash bit shipments bounced back in 2Q18 as Chinese smartphone brands stocked up on high-density products.
DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports that DRAM suppliers have in turn begun their 4Q18 contract negotiations with their clients since the mid-August. Looking ahead, DRAMeXchange expects that the quotations of DRAM products have an increasing chance to grow weak in 4Q18, although the industries previously expected a flat price trend. This weak quotation is mainly due to increasing supply yet fairly limited growth in demand.
The worldwide notebook shipments in 2Q18 grew above expectations by 10.2% QoQ and 2.8% YoY to 41.08 million units, according to the global market research firm TrendForce. Looking ahead to 3Q18, the traditional sales season and orders related to commercial tenders will drive demand growth in the notebook market with total shipments estimated to advance by 5-6% QoQ.
According to TrendForce, the sales of Apple’s iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X that were released in 2017 were lower than expected for models that celebrate 10th anniversary of the iPhone line. Sales of the iPhone 8/X series were affected by the delayed launch. Moreover, the demand for iPhone X has not been as strong as anticipated because consumers still need time to adjust to the high prices. While the market performance of the iPhone 8/X series has fallen short of the high expectations, iPhone sales as a whole are sustained by the popularity of models from the earlier generations. TrendForce finds that total iPhone sales for the whole year of 2017 reached around 216 million units, roughly the same as the annual figure for 2016.
The global DRAM revenue grew by 11.3% QoQ (from previous quarter) to reach another record high in 2Q18, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. DRAM quotes rose during the period as the market remained in tight supply. Contract prices of most DRAM products advanced by just around 3% QoQ on average in 2Q18, except for contract prices of graphics DRAM products that surged by nearly 15% QoQ on the back of the cryptocurrency-related demand.