Global DRAM industry to reach $30.6 billion in 2012

Telecom Lead Asia: Global DRAM industry revenue this year
is forecast to reach $30.6 billion, up 3.3 percent from $29.6 billion in
2011.

The market is expected to partially reverse the drastic
losses it incurred in 2011 and achieve revenue growth this year, according to
an IHS iSuppli DRAM Market Tracker report.

 

The report said that the market will improve due to
balanced supply and demand following the exit of major manufacturer Elpida
Memory Inc.

 

The study predicts that the overall picture will continue
to brighten during the next few years, with DRAM revenue exceeding $30 billion
each year for the next five years and reaching $40.2 billion in 2016.

 

Elpida’s insolvency will have a massive impact on the
industry’s fortunes, primarily because it promises to shift the market from a
state of endemic oversupply to sorely needed balance for most of 2012,”said
Mike Howard, senior principal analyst for DRAM & memory research at IHS.

 

The study finds that the DRAM space will see strong
expansion in the next few years because of three powerful growth drivers:
ultrathin PCs, smartphones and tablets.

 

Low-power double data rate 3 (LPDDR3), which is used in
high-end ultrabooks will account for as much as 19 percent of the total DRAM
market in 2014.

 

In the case of smartphones, increasing shipments during
the next five years coupled with growing memory content per phone suggest rosy
prospects as well for DRAM. Average DRAM content in smartphones this year will
amount to 5.1 gigabits, up from 3.5 gigabits last year and from 2.3 gigabits in
2010.

 

Overall, the net increase in DRAM due to smartphones will
equate to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 65 percent from 2011 to 2016.

 

Global DRAM market to go down over the period 2010-2014, says
Research and Markets

 

Interestingly, earlier, Research and Markets predicted
that the global DRAM market will see a decline at a CAGR of -1.4 Percent over
the Period 2010-2014, as the average selling prices of the DRAM are plunging.

 

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