DRAM prices are lower than production costs

Those who are in need of DRAM for their computers will find bargain prices during May and June, due to continued memory chip prices.

The wholesale price of the most commonly used DRAM chips (512M bit, 667 MHz DDR2) has slipped below the $ 2 threshold for the first time since its inception. Its price has fallen by 8.8% compared to mid-April, leaving only $ 1.94 / chip.

This is a good news for consumers. Reduced DRAM prices can help offset the tendency to increase the price of LCD monitors, which in turn helps keep PC prices unchanged. On the other hand, those who need to speed up their system can buy more DRAM at very cheap prices.

" The demand in the DRAM market in May and June was weaker than expected. Many firms began to liquidate the stock, and only when the inventory was pushed away could the price bounce back. " , DRAMeXchange said.

However, according to DRAMeXchange warning, the above price will not last for more than a few months. Currently, the price of each chip has fallen too low compared to the manufacturer's cost of $ 2.5 - 3, and these firms are likely to adjust their business strategy to reverse the trend.

On the other hand, the second quarter of the year is always the strongest season for PC consumption as it prepares to enter the new school year - this is a possible factor to stop the decline of DRAM.

Meanwhile, research firm Gartner has a different perspective. The breakdown of the USD 2 chip price did not cause strong psychological resistance as originally expected by analysts. Even if chip firms continue to suffer losses to produce DRAM, prices are hard to recover quickly. They still have to sell chips to get cash for expensive DRAM factories.

Of course, firms can transfer some of their resources to produce more "hot" products such as NAND flash memory and image sensor microphones. But if you want to transfer, it will take several months, and they will probably miss the recovery of the DRAM market.

Currently, nearly three-quarters of DRAM chips are traded through contracts between manufacturers and large PC firms such as Dell, HP . Prices are renegotiated twice each month. The remaining 1/4 is sold freely in the market.

Since the beginning of the year, wholesale chip prices have dropped by 67%, from 5.95 USD to just 1.94 USD. Although many experts believe that DRAM prices reduce the forecast of PC consumption will be slow, it seems that this is not true.

Trong Cam