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 (
CHIP WAR: Tariffs on Taiwanese chips would prompt companies to move their factories, but not necessarily to the US, unleashing a ‘global cross-sector tariff war’ US President Donald Trump would “shoot himself in the foot” if he follows through on his recent pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese and other foreign semiconductors entering the US, analysts said. Trump’s plans to raise tariffs on chips manufactured in Taiwan to as high as 100 percent would backfire, macroeconomist Henry Wu (吳嘉隆) said. He would “shoot himself in the foot,” Wu said on Saturday, as such economic measures would lead Taiwanese chip suppliers to pass on additional costs to their US clients and consumers, and ultimately cause another wave of inflation. Trump has claimed that Taiwan took up to
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
RSS