DRAM and NAND are Setting Record Highs This Year, IC Insights Says

Jul. 20, 2017, Jul. 20, 2017 – 

According to IC Insights' report, sales of both memory types-DRAM and NAND-are expected to set record highs this year. In both cases, the strong annual upturn in sales is being driven almost entirely by fast-rising average selling prices.

In the case of DRAM, unit shipments are actually forecast to show a decline this year. Moreover, NAND shipments are forecast to increase only 2%, providing a small, added boost to the market growth in that segment.

Prices for DRAM and NAND first began increasing in the second half of 2016, and continued with quarterly increases through the first half of 2017. Figure 1 plots the robust quarterly ASP growth rates, which, from 3Q16 through 2Q17, averaged 16.8% for DRAM and 11.6% for NAND.

With DRAM ASPs surging since the third quarter of 2016, DRAM manufacturers once again stepped up their spending for this segment. However, the majority of this spending is going towards technology advancements and not toward capacity additions.

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