Silicon wafer out of stock is still DRAM contract prices successfully raised

In the absence of haze in silicon wafers, the demand for replenishment of personal computer (PC) makers started ahead of schedule. In April, DRAM contract prices rose, allowing DRAM makers to take a rest and expect an average increase of about 6 in early April. %, while South Asian Branch according to different customer segments, single month's gains fall in the range of 5-10%, the current price of 2GB capacity DDR3 module is adjusted to 18 US dollars, the conversion of 2Gb chip quotes to 2 US dollars, 2GB module price is expected to rise to 20 US dollars Just around the corner, if the problem of tight silicon wafers persists, it is expected that the price will rebound to this level in May and June.

Recently, the DRAM industry fell into two kinds of emotions. On the one hand, the April contract price has been successfully adjusted upwards, and the rate has exceeded 5%, indicating that PC makers will increase their willingness to raise prices and set a bottoming signal for the DRAM industry. On the other hand, before the end of April, the factories announced the first quarter financial reports. Most of the Taiwanese plants were still unable to shake off the haze of losses. Therefore, although DRAM makers have a bullish price increase, they still have to face the test of bad earnings.

The DRAM maker believes that the March contract price has gradually increased, but the contract price increase in April has been successful, further establishing that the industry has recovered from the bottom. Currently, PC customers are willing to pull goods ahead of schedule, mainly because of concerns that the shortage of silicon wafers has not been released. In the future, the DRAM market may be worried about tight supply, so it is willing to increase prices and pull goods.

The DRAM industry further stated that in fact, the second quarter was originally a traditional off-season. It originally faced the test of “five poor and six absolutes”. However, after the strong earthquake in Japan, the market supply and demand began to reverse, and DRAM plants had an excuse to increase prices. Determining too many factors makes it difficult for PC customers not to pay for orders, stimulating many of the replenishment tides that would otherwise be seen at the end of the second quarter, and indirectly pulling out the DRAM industry from the bottom.

Moreover, some DRAM plants currently adopt a limited supply strategy, which only provides normal order demand. The demand for excess orders cannot be satisfied temporarily. However, in the long run, after the silicon wafer shortage problem is resolved, the DRAM market supply and demand will return. The PC market bought gas to observe.

Since the two major silicon wafer suppliers in the world, Shin-Etsu Semiconductor and SUMCO, are still unable to resume normal production, semiconductor manufacturers' inventory can support the demand for the next 1-2 months. However, the output after May will still depend on silicon. Round availability.

The memory industry revealed that after the 311 earthquake in Japan, Taiwanese DRAM makers were worried about the continued shortage of silicon wafers. They once considered making small-scale production cuts in April, but after measuring the inventory situation and emergency dispatching of silicon wafers, they are still Maintaining normal operations, but after the supply of silicon wafers is indeed the key to the smooth operation of the DRAM plant is still the lifeblood. In addition, South Asian Branch's SDRAM and DDR2 contract prices rose by 8% to 10% in early April, which was mainly stimulated by the strong earthquake effect in Japan.

In the case of tight supply of silicon wafers, memory manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and Hynix are taking into consideration the production value and application area of ​​each wafer in the capacity allocation of 12-inch wafer fabs. NAND Flash chips will be given priority, followed by standard DRAM and niche memory.