The prices of the flagship memory chip, DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) used in personal computers, have been on the decline from early this year.

This seems to come in line with waning demand for PCs, putting South Korea’s chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on edge for possible further price falls.

According to sources from DRAMeXchange, a market research firm, DDR3 4Gb spot price, the benchmark DRAM price, tallied an average of $2.55, down 30.7 percent compared to $3.68 early this year.

The continued fall in the DRAM price is attributable primarily to shrinking demand caused by sluggish sales of PCs. The Internet Data Center (IDC), a US market research firm, said PC shipments slipped 6.7 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 68,585,000 units in the first quarter (Q1).

Another research firm Gartner announced that PC shipments lost 5.2 percent over the corresponding period. Intel disclosed during the first quarter earnings release that lackluster sales of PCs drove down sales of its semiconductor division by 8.3 percent. In these circumstances, industry observers suggest that any further DRAM price drops would lead to production adjustment in the industry.

By: DocMemory
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