DDR4 Spot Prices Rarely “Invert” DDR5 in a Decade, Taiwanese Vendors Emerge as Biggest Winners
Against the backdrop of collective production cuts by manufacturers, the DDR4 spot market has witnessed a “crazy rally”. According to TrendForce data, on June 13, the average price of DDR4 8Gb (1G×8) 3200 surged 7.8% to 3.775, up 38.27% from 2.73 on May 30. Calculated from the beginning of the quarter on March 31, the cumulative increase is nearly 132%. More dramatically, current DDR4 quotes have exceeded those of the higher-spec DDR5, creating a “price inversion” rarely seen in a decade, as industry insiders put it.
- Besides international giants, domestic manufacturer ChangXin Memory has fully shifted to DDR5 and HBM production, tilting existing DDR4 capacity toward automotive and industrial equipment, further depleting market supply;
- OEM/ODM manufacturers are aggressively sweeping up supplies to secure sources, causing Nanya Technology's inventory to clear rapidly, with follow-up capacities already pre-booked by customers;
- As major DDR4 suppliers, Nanya Technology (with DDR3+DDR4 revenue accounting for over 80%) has defied industry expanding legacy capacity, while Winbond Electronics also benefits from price hikes. Memory IC design firms Etron and Ardentec have started receiving related orders, with subsequent operations expected to improve.