TrendForce’s latest analysis of the SSD market finds that the total worldwide shipments of branded SSDs bound for the channel (retail) market in 2018 reached around 81 million units, showing a huge increase of 50% from 2017. Kingston Technology, ADATA Technology, and Tigo retained first, second, and third place respectively in the ranking of branded SSD module makers (excluding NAND Flash suppliers) by market share for channel-market SSDs.
TrendForce’s latest analysis of the server market finds that the global demand was noticeably lower than usual during 1H19 on account of the escalation of the US-China trade dispute. As the market enters the second half of the year, the replacement demand associated with the migration to the latest server processor platforms has yet to pick up significantly. Moreover, the demand from customers in China’s data center market is still rather uncertain. On the other hand, shipments from ODM direct businesses in the US to North America’s data center market is expected to maintain robust growth during the year’s second half. The growth from this end will compensate for the other factors that negatively affect the overall demand. Consequently, this year’s global server shipments will be roughly on par with the level of the previous year.
Tsinghua Unigroup announced on August 27 that it has signed an agreement with the Chongqing government to establish an R&D center and a wafer fab for DRAM production. The construction of these facilities, which will be located in Chongqing’s Liangjiang New Area, is scheduled to start near the end of 2019 and finish in 2021. TrendForce believes this latest event is another indication of China’s unwavering determination to achieve self-sufficiency in the supply of memory products. The continuing escalation of the US-China trade dispute and the blacklisting of JHICC by the US government have compelled the Chinese government to redouble their efforts to build up a domestic DRAM industry.
The global demand for semiconductor components in the second half of the year will be noticeably stronger compared with the first half due to the effect of the traditional peak season. TrendForce currently estimates that the global foundry revenue in 3Q19 will increase by 13% QoQ. TSMC, Samsung, and GlobalFoundries will again take first, second, and third place respectively in the revenue ranking. TSMC’s revenue market share is estimated at 50.5% in 3Q19, whereas the market shares of Samsung and Global foundries are estimated at 18.5% and 8% respectively for the same period. Although the end demand will be driven by the positive seasonality in 2H19, its growth will be lower compared with 2H18 due to the uncertainties around the US-China trade disputes. TrendForce thus expects the rebound in the semiconductor market during the year’s second half to be significantly weaker compared with the same period of the previous years.
Taiwan’s Lite-On Technology Corp. (Lite-On) announced on August 30 that it will offload the entire stake of its SSD business to Toshiba Memory Holdings Corp. (TMCHD). The purchase price is provisionally set at US$165 million, and the transaction is scheduled to be completed by 1H20. TrendForce’s preliminary assessment of this deal finds that Lite-On’s SSD business has significant advantages in operational efficiency and flexibility. Thus, the acquisition could be a major boon to TMCHD in terms of enhancing the range and quality of product offerings.