PC DRAM Prices Soar by Largest Margin in Over 4 Years... Signs of Supercycle Kickoff

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyeon-jin] The fixed transaction price of PC DRAM rose by as much as 27% in April, marking the largest increase since January 2017. As the semiconductor 'super cycle' begins in earnest, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which focus on memory semiconductors, are expected to show strong performance from the second quarter onward.

According to Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce on the 30th, the fixed transaction price of DDR4 8Gb PC DRAM averaged $3.8 this month, up 26.67% from the previous month. The fixed transaction price of DDR4 8Gb, which was $2.85 at the end of last year, rose 5.26% in January to reach $3, then remained flat in February and March. Since DRAM contracts are often made on a quarterly basis, prices surged significantly in April, the start of the second quarter.

Data provided by TrendForce

The monthly price increase of PC DRAM this month is the highest since January 2017, a period of long-term semiconductor boom. At that time, the fixed transaction price of PC DRAM rose 35.8% from $4.19 to $5.69.

PC DRAM prices are expected to continue rising. This is because spot prices, which precede fixed transaction prices, are rising sharply. The spot price of DDR4 8Gb exceeded $5 during trading on the 28th and 29th. Based on average spot prices, DRAM prices surpassed $4 in February, briefly stalled at the end of last month, and have rapidly risen this month, fluctuating around the $5 mark.

TrendForce stated, "Considering laptop production in the second quarter, PC DRAM prices are expected to rise by about 8%," and added, "In the third quarter, prices are expected to increase by 3 to 8%, boosting the profits of DRAM suppliers."

Server DRAM prices also rose by 15 to 18% this month depending on the product. This is attributed to increased investment in information and communication sectors by companies and the migration to cloud services, which has led cloud companies to actively secure inventory. TrendForce forecasts that strong demand for server DRAM will continue in the second half of this year, and given that companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dominate most of the supply, the price increase trend is expected to persist for the time being.

Another memory semiconductor, NAND flash, rebounded in price for the first time in a year since March last year. The average fixed transaction price of the 128Gb 16Gx8 MLC NAND flash, a general-purpose product for memory cards and USBs, rose 8.57% this month to $4.56. This increase is the largest in four years since March 2017 (13.87%). TrendForce predicts that NAND flash prices will continue to rise for two consecutive quarters due to high customer demand and changes in suppliers' product mix.

With the sharp rise in DRAM and NAND flash prices, expectations for the semiconductor super cycle are growing stronger. Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which recently announced their first-quarter earnings, have a positive outlook on the memory semiconductor market from the second quarter onward and expect improved performance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.