In a surprising turn of events, Chinese DRAM maker Changxin Memory (CXMT) is considering hiking the prices of its DDR4 memory after demand and supply stabilized, according to DigiTimes. According to TrendForcethat has, CXMT is not the only company to increased DRAM pricing in recent months. Keep in mind that the information is unofficial, though.
In a bid to gain market share away from primary memory suppliers, just about six months ago CXMT and another Chinese memory maker Fujian Jinhua offered their DDR4 SDRAM chips with a 50% discount, which made them cheaper than reballed (recycled/re-used) memory ICs, which intensified price competition amid oversupply of DDR4. As a result of demand shift to DDR4 and dumping of DDR4 memory by Chinese makers, renowned DRAM producers Micron, Samsung, and SK hynix even mulled to cease production of DDR3 and DDR4 chips by the end of the year.
However, as memory module producers and PC makers increased their stockpiles of hardware in general and mainstream memory specifically to prepare for possible tariff changes in the U.S., this led to quicker usage of existing inventory at contract hardware makers. As a result, DDR4 and DDR5 memory prices are projected to remain steady or even increase in the second quarter.
As prominent DRAM makers shifted their capacity to DDR5 and HBM (and keep in mind that HBM requires more DRAM capacity than mainstream types of memory), Chinese DRAM makers seem to be inclined to cease dumping DDR4 SDRAM in a bid to gain market share. As a result, it is time for them to hike the price of their DDR4 ICs, according to DigiTimes. As a result, DDR4 prices may rise by up to 5% in the second quarter, while DDR3 is likely to stay unchanged due to past oversupply, according to TrendForce.
What happens in June and July remains to be seen. PC makers start to prep for the back-to-school season in late Q2—early Q3, so this is when DRAM prices tend to increase. Many PCs use not only mainstream DDR4 or DDR5 but also LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X, so expect demand for all four types of memory to rise this summer. However, how this affects pricing because OEMs and ODMs are stockpiling DRAMs now remains to be seen.
