The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in WFH and distance education becoming the new tenets of everyday life, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. The resultant booming stay-at-home economy has not only galvanized an explosive double-digit growth for NB (notebook computer) shipment this year, but also benefitted the graphics card market, whose remarkable shipment performance that began in 2Q20 is expected to persist in 2H20.
Spot prices have risen for certain types of memory chips recently, leading to significant market speculations on whether the entire memory industry could see a turnaround in the near future.
The massive drop-off in DRAM quotes in 2019 culminated in a total yearly decline of more than 50%, which led to revenue losses for most module makers in 2019, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. However, Kingston’s growth against the downtrend served as the saving grace for the module industry, which registered yearly revenue of US$16.1 billion in 2019, a mere 3% decrease YoY.
The last cyclical upturn in DRAM contract prices began at the start of 2020 and was led by server DRAM, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. In 2Q20, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the global economy, but OEMs maintained or even stepped up procurement of components because they feared disruptions in the supply chain. As a result, DRAM suppliers’ bit shipments surpassed expectations for the quarter, in turn widening the overall increase in DRAM ASP and raising the global DRAM revenue by 15.4% QoQ in 2Q20 to US$17.1 billion.
