Market research company IHS iSuppli reports Elpida's bankruptcy is having a stabilizing effect on the memory market:
DRAM pricing appears to have flattened since the bankruptcy announcement, althoug the Japanese maker had been the third-largest DRAM supplier in terms of sales in the Q1 2012.
In the twelve week period after Elpida’s February 27 announcement, the IHS iSuppli DRAM Price Index - a weighted average of DRAM spot price - stayed within a narrow band, hovering between 235 at the start of the post-announcement period and 243 on May 21. With a starting value of 1000 at the time it was first published in 2002, the Index gives a measure of how much DRAM prices are dropping. In comparison to the period above, the spread in the DRAM Index was much larger in a similar 12-week span prior to bankruptcy, ranging from 180 at the beginning of the pre-announcement phase up to 216 at the close of the same period, or a difference of 37 points.
Another measure of DRAM pricing changes, the IHS iSuppli Momentum Indicator, has also stayed at the 50% level since the announcement, an indication of neutrality with no upward or downward momentum.
