Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Elpida Memory Inc. and its Taiwan partner, Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., have cut their production rates amid a downturn in the sector, according to reports.
Elpida has a 300-mm fab in Japan and recently announced a big fab project in China. Elpida and Powerchip have a joint fab venture in Taiwan.
''Powerchip announced that it plans to cut its DRAM capacity by 10-15 percent in Q4 '08. Currently, Powerchip's fab output (including the portion allocated to Elpida) accounts for nearly 10 percent of the total worldwide DRAM output,'' according to the DRAMeXchange, a DRAM clearing house. ''The 10-15 percent capacity cut is expected to reduce the worldwide output by 1-2 percent.''
The cutback will make only a small dent in the DRAM market, which has been hit hard by a major downturn. And there is no relief in sight for the sector.
''Both the DRAM spot and contract prices have dropped sharply,'' according to the DRAMeXchange. ''The DDR2 1-Gbit spot prices have dropped near the cash cost, while the DDR2 512-Mbit has dropped to the cash cost level in Q4 '07.''
As a result of the trends, most DRAM makers are losing money, including Elpida, Hynix, Micron, Qimonda, Powerchip and others. Samsung appears to be in the black, for now.
By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved
|
