Contract Price of 4GB DDR3 Memory Price Drops Below $16 as Demand Falls

From X-bit Labs: DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, PC-ODM shipment figures indicate this year’s peak shipment period for PCs has passed. Notebook shipments have shown a downtrend in October, indication that demand for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is slipping. As a result, pricing of DRAM continued to drop.

TrendForce claims that the average 4GB DDR3 module price fell by 1.54% since the second half of December to $16, while the lowest price broke the $16 mark, arriving at $15.75, amounting to a mere $0.83 for 2Gb chips, nearly the same as spot price. 2GB DDR3 module price, on the other hand, stayed the same at $9.25. As module prices fall to such lows, DRAM suppliers are strategically focusing on high-density 4GB module shipments in hopes of stimulating sales due to content per unit increases.

At press time, one untested [eTT] 2Gb DDR3 chip price cost $0.666 on average in Taiwan's spot market, 2Gb DDR3 1333MHz/1600MHz chip's price was approximately $0.829/$0.822, whereas 4Gb DDR3 1600MHz memory IC was priced at $2.302 on average on the spot market.

Due to macroeconomic influences, DRAM makers’ chip prices are either approaching or are already below manufacturing cost, but demand has yet to pick up. DRAM suppliers’ plans to reallocate PC DRAM capacity have been disrupted, as the market remains in oversupply.

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