Posted on Monday, May 11 2009 @ 8:10 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
A new report by iSuppli indicates that for the first time in more than three years, US memory chip maker Micron is back in the global top three. Samsung is the biggest DRAM maker with a marketshare of 34.3 percent in Q1 2009, followed by Hynix at 21.6 percent and Micron at 14.6 percent.
In the first quarter, the global DRAM market contracted 20.1 percent from the fourth quarter and 44.1 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008, according to iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.).Average selling price per megabyte was down 8 percent and megabyte units declined 13 percent sequentially, according to the firm. Megabyte units grew 10 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008, iSuppli said.
Kim cautioned that Micron's comeback could trigger a market share war, especially with Elpida and Hynix, adversely affecting the overall market.
"ISuppli believes that, inevitably, Micron will gain market share with additional fab access in the future," Kim wrote.
More details
at EE Times.
