Posted on Thursday, August 21 2014 @ 12:47 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
DigiTimes
writes the DRAM market is once again facing a situation of oversupply as Samsung announced it will produce DRAM chips at its Line-17 fab, instead of manufacturing SoCs as planned earlier. The site reports the loss of Apple's chip orders to TSMC has prompted Samsung to boost its DRAM output in order to bolster its profitability.
While contract quotes for DRAM chips are currently at high levels, with 4GB DDR3 modules hovering at US$34, chip suppliers expect prices to become more volatile in September.
The situation in the NAND flash market is more severe than that of the DRAM market as strong demand from Apple should have driven up NAND flash prices significantly. However, price hikes for NAND flash chips have been limited. Furthermore, prices may see a correction after vendors release new mobile devices, added the sources.
NAND flash suppliers hoped that sales of SSD devices will see a major take-off in 2014, boosting sales of NAND flash chips. However, price competition for market share among SSD vendors has impeded any healthy development of the SSD industry, said the sources.
