Prices of computer memory chips may rebound during the first quarter of next year as chipmakers cut production to cope with the drastic price corrections of the past few months, Taipei-based market researcher DRAMeXchange said last week.
Taiwanese chipmakers, well-known for their strong cost-saving ability, are now under pressure from price erosion after a 50-percent decline in prices pushed them into the red, or to the brink of losses during the second quarter of this year.
Following the third quarter recovery, prices for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips started on a downward trend again, according to DRAMeXchange.
Contract prices for banker double-data-rate (DDR) DRAM modules have fallen 22 percent since September when compared to the previous three months, the researcher said in a statement.
The price for DDR2, which processes data faster dipped by about 32 percent, it said.
"Faced with the prospect of further price drops, DRAM chipmakers started cutting back production," DRAMeXchange said.
Last month, the annual growth for total DRAM output slowed to around 2.65 percent, compared with around a 10-percent increase for September and October, respectively, the research house said.
Combined with a lack of supplies, lower chip prices have stimulated unusually strong demand this month, which used to be a slow month as computer vendors traditionally reduce their inventory dramatically after the annual Christmas shopping spree ends, the report noted.
"That indicates that contract prices are hitting the bottom and there is a chance they may rebound," the research house said.
DRAM chipmakers attempted to inflate the contract price slightly for the second half of this month in light of improved spot prices, but most of them got flat deals, researcher said.
Some still managed to raise prices and extended the price negotiations with their US customers ahead of the Christmas holidays, the researcher added.
Despite the bumpy road toward price hikes, most DRAM makers held an optimistic attitude about the market, according to DRAMeXchange's survey.
They planned to raise prices for the first half of next month and prices would be sustainable during the first half of the first quarter of next year, the researcher said.
The contract price for the benchmark 256-megabit, 400-megahertz DDR DRAM chip was unchanged at US$1.98 from last month, according to the report.
The spot price for the benchmark DRAM chip fell nearly 20 percent to US$2.1 on Friday from an average of US$2.6 in the third quarter.
DRAM makers such as Taiwan's second-largest memory chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS