South Korea's Semiconductor DRAM Market Share Declines... Micron Surpasses Hynix to Take 2nd Place

Samsung Electronics down 2%P, SK Hynix down 4.7%P
Micron rises 5.1%P with reduced sales decline

The DRAM market in the first quarter took a direct hit from the semiconductor industry downturn, recording sales that plummeted 21% compared to the previous quarter. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also saw significant declines in sales, resulting in a drop in their market shares.

Market research firm TrendForce announced on the 25th that global DRAM market sales in the first quarter reached $9.663 billion, down 21.2% from $12.269 billion in the previous quarter. Due to the semiconductor industry downturn that began in earnest in the second half of last year, the DRAM market has experienced negative growth for three consecutive quarters.

While all major DRAM companies saw a decline in sales in the first quarter, the extent of the decrease varied by company. As a result, market shares shifted, changing the rankings of the second and third largest players. In the first quarter, the market shares were ▲Samsung Electronics (43.2%) ▲U.S. Micron (28.2%) ▲SK Hynix (23.9%), with Micron overtaking SK Hynix.

From the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw sales drop by 24.7% and 31.7%, respectively. Their market shares also fell by 2.0 percentage points and 4.7 percentage points, respectively. In contrast, Micron’s first-quarter sales decreased by only 3.8% compared to the previous quarter, resulting in a 5.1 percentage point increase in market share.

Micron reduced the scale of its first-quarter sales decline thanks to rapid financial reporting and orders received at the end of last year. Samsung Electronics experienced a decrease in shipments and a drop in average selling price (ASP) due to reduced orders for newly launched products. SK Hynix also saw shipments and ASP fall by more than 15% compared to the previous quarter, resulting in the largest sales decline.

TrendForce expects DRAM prices to continue falling in the second quarter. It also forecasts that Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron will all post operating losses. As the three companies continue to cut production, their utilization rates are expected to decline to 77%, 74%, and 82%, respectively, in the second quarter.

TrendForce stated, "The main cause of the (first-quarter sales) decline was the continued price drop due to persistent oversupply," adding, "Although shipments are expected to increase in the second quarter, ongoing price declines could limit potential sales growth." However, it noted that as industry-wide production cuts continue, the pace of price declines may gradually slow down.

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