Contract prices of DRAM products are forecast to drop by 15 percent quarter on quarter in Q2 2019 due to high inventory and weak demand, says TrendForce.
Contract prices of DRAM products across all application markets declined by more than 15 percent month on month in January.
PC DRAM price will drop by more than 20 percent quarter on quarter. Server DRAM price will dip by nearly 30 percent quarter on quarter.
Demand related to 5G, AIoT, IIoT, and automotive electronics is still in the nascent stage of development and will not have much influence on the DRAM market in 2019. Since DRAM suppliers have also scaled back their capacity expansions, the gap between supply and demand will narrow.
The decline in contract prices of PC DRAM products was 10 percent in Q4 2018 and will be nearly 25 percent in Q1 2019. The average contract price of mainstream 8GB PC DRAM modules will be under $45.
Server DRAM products had the largest price gain in 2017 and 2018. Server DRAM prices will register sharp monthly declines as inventory reduction has become a vital issue. The downswing will not start to moderate until Q3 2019 though clients operating internet data centers will still want to expand their businesses.
Mobile DRAM price rose marginally in 2017 and 2018. Price decline in the mobile DRAM market will be the smallest at 10-15 percent in Q2. The drop in contract prices of discrete and eMCP products will be be under 20 percent in Q1. Mobile DRAM market will benefit from devices from Android phone makers.
Contract prices of specialty DRAM products are projected to drop by 10-15 percent in Q2.