DRAM Drops 17% in September... NAND Flash Also Falls by Double Digits

DRAM, Largest Decline Since April Last Year
"Inventory Reduction Expected to Continue in Q4"
NAND Also Plummeted Sharply Since September

In the memory semiconductor market, fixed transaction prices for DRAM and NAND flash have plummeted, increasing uncertainty in the semiconductor market.

On the 30th, market research firm DRAMeXchange announced that the average fixed transaction price for PC DRAM general-purpose products (DDR4 8Gb 1Gx8) in September was $1.70. This represents a sharp drop of 17.07% compared to the previous month, marking the largest decline since April last year (-19.89%).

DRAM prices showed an upward trend from October last year to early this year but remained relatively stable after May before sharply falling in September.

Market research firm TrendForce stated, "PC manufacturers are still maintaining high inventory levels, so demand has not rebounded," and added, "Companies are expected to continue reducing inventory in the fourth quarter, and the scale of DRAM procurement is likely to decrease further."

SK Hynix 1c DDR5 DRAM [Photo by SK Hynix]

NAND flash prices also sharply declined in September. The average price for general-purpose NAND flash products for memory cards and USBs (128Gb 16Gx8 MLC) in September was $4.34, down 11.44% from the previous month. Prices remained stable in the first half of the year but recorded a double-digit decline for the first time in September.

TrendForce cited the main reasons for the NAND flash price drop as decreased demand in the Chinese market due to the end of bidding by the three major Chinese telecom companies, global economic uncertainty, and price declines of large-capacity TLC (Triple-Level Cell, which stores 3 bits of data per cell) wafers.

TrendForce added, "Due to the sluggish Chinese economy and reduced network infrastructure spending by local governments, contract prices for SLC (Single-Level Cell, which stores 1 bit of data per cell) and MLC (Multi-Level Cell, which stores 2 bits of data per cell) products are increasingly likely to fall in October."