Institutions expect the contract prices of DRAM and NAND on Q4 mobile platforms to continue to rise

The latest research by market research firm TrendForce shows that the prices of mobile platforms DRAM and NAND will continue to rise in the fourth quarter of 2023. The DRAM contract price is expected to increase by 13% to 18% month on month, while NAND Flash, such as eMMC and UFS flash, is expected to increase by about 10% to 15% month on month. Due to the low profit margin of DRAM memory chips on mobile platforms compared to other DRAM products, the recent increase will be the largest.

The organization stated that there were several reasons for the increase in the fourth quarter, including Samsung's expansion of production cuts and Meguiar's 20% increase in supply, which continued to establish the confidence of practitioners in price increases. In terms of demand, in the second half of 2023, mobile platforms DRAM and NAND not only benefited from the traditional Q3 peak season, but also stimulated other Chinese smartphone brands to expand production targets, driving up the contract price of mobile storage chips in the fourth quarter.

Looking ahead to Q1 2024, it is expected that the overall growth trend of storage chips will continue. However, due to the traditional off-season and the lack of working days during the Spring Festival, the sustained increase in prices will cool down. It is expected that the contract prices of DRAM and NAND on mobile platforms will continue to increase in the first quarter of next year, with the increase depending on the production capacity of chip manufacturers and the actual demand of terminals.