The collective price adjustment of major storage manufacturers, DRAM** rose by 15%-20%, what is the impact?
Some time ago, it was the norm for storage giants to raise prices, and after several waves of price increases in 2023, they are now starting to take a turn on DRAM again. Samsung Electronics, Micron and other memory giants reportedly plan to increase DRAM** by 15%-20% in the first quarter of this year.
The news quickly spread in the industry and attracted widespread attention. What is the reason for this price increase? What are the implications for the entire memory semiconductor industry?
So why are large storage companies raising DRAM rates again at this time?
Let's start with DRAM, which is dynamic random access memory and is an important part of a computer's memory. In recent years, with the rapid development of technology, the demand for DRAM market has continued to grow, but the number of DRAM products is relatively small. This has led to a high level of DRAM in recent years.
Despite this, the storage giants have decided to increase their already high DRAM** by another 15%-20%.
First, from an industry perspective, upstream OEMs need to improve their operating loss profile. While other memory chips such as NAND flash memory*** have seen relatively small increases in DRAM products. To improve the situation, OEMs decided to focus on DRAM and improve revenue.
Second, as market demand gradually recovers to stabilize, large warehousing companies hope to encourage customers to plan ahead for future use needs by raising prices. The purpose of this is to ensure the stability of the ** chain in the future and avoid ** shortage caused by increased demand.
In addition, in order to maintain the highest quality, the original factory has also adopted a strategy of reducing production capacity. It is understood that whether it is DRAM or NAND, the upstream** situation in the fourth quarter of 2023 is not difficult. But the premise is that the customer is willing to accept the original factory **. As long as it is suitable, the original factory has products to sell.
In this case, reducing production capacity has become an important insurance strategy for original manufacturers. For example, South Korean DRAM manufacturers have been reducing DRAM productivity while gradually increasing production of high-end processes.
What is the impact on the entire warehousing industry?
From the perspective of the industry cycle, under the regulation and control of large-scale plant harvests abroad, the supply and demand of collection and storage have gradually improved, and the traditional collection and storage has continued to rise since 2023Q3, and in the fourth quarter, the niche collection and storage has reached the lowest level.
As many OEMs continue to reduce DDR4 production, industry inventory is depleted, and the downstream server market recovers, it is expected that the growth of traditional DRAM will continue to rebound in the future. This will further promote the development and prosperity of the semiconductor industry.
However, it should be noted that ** may also have some impact on the downstream industry.
With the increase of DRAM, the cost of downstream manufacturers will also increase accordingly, which may lead to the price increase of some products, which will have an impact on consumers. Therefore, while increasing prices, large storage companies must also balance the relationship between market demand and customer interests.
If the increase is too high and the frequency is too fast, it will affect the storage market. Judging from the quarterly price increase trends of some storage initiators, it is clear that the ** level has not yet recovered to the level of 2022, and if the storage initiators show an overly hasty attitude, too high ** may cause a psychological gap on the demand side, which will lead to the demand side to re-evaluate the purchase volume.
For China's storage companies, how to respond to changes in the global storage market is also a challenge.
Major DRAM manufacturers account for 95% of the market share, so the overall market has a demonstrative effect. Domestic manufacturers are affected by the equipment restrictions in the Netherlands and Japan, and they are also facing the challenges of the first chain. Therefore, it is difficult to ignore the collective price increase trend of major manufacturers and the urgent need to keep up with the highest prices.
However, in this wave of price increases, domestic manufacturers such as Yangtze River Storage may be difficult to provide sufficient capacity and competitiveness. Under the influence of financial pressure and the challenge of the first chain, YMTC may not be able to meet the market demand, which in turn makes it difficult for domestic top merchants to negotiate with large storage companies.
Therefore, Chinese storage manufacturers need to pay close attention to the dynamics of the global storage market in order to adjust their production and sales strategies in a timely manner.
In the context of the continuous development of the global storage market, Chinese storage manufacturers need to improve their technical level and product quality to enhance their competitiveness and win more market share. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation and communication with global customers to better meet their needs and improve their satisfaction.
In conclusion, the re-escalation of DRAM** by major memory vendors is an important dynamic in the global semiconductor market. This not only has an impact on the upstream original manufacturers, but also brings challenges and opportunities to China's storage manufacturers and even the entire semiconductor industry.
Then, how to deal with these market changes also requires domestic manufacturers to pay close attention and adjust their strategies in a timely manner.