DRAM suppliers facing price declines in September, iSuppli predicts      
Business and Law
By Wolfgang Gruener
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 10:17
El Segundo (CA) - If you are looking to upgrade your PC with more memory, the fourth quarter may be offering enough reason to do so: iSuppli says that September is likely to bring a "price correction" with DRAM prices heading down at a double-digit pace.

A decrease in DRAM pricing was previously expected to happen in October, but iSuppli now believes that prices will begin to fall already in September. The main reason for this decline is a glut of DRAM inventory manufacturers have not been able to get rid off. According to the market research firm, OEMs and the channel are still working on a memory oversupply left over from January. Memory suppliers are expectedto see a drop in demand in the fourth quarter of this year as a result.

iSuppli believes that DRAM suppliers' profitability will dwindle in the fourth quarter compared to the third, with DRAM prices possibly declining in the double-digit range.

DRAM revenue growth for all of 2007 is expected to amount to less than 2%. However, memory suppliers apparently already reacted to the market environment and cut production during the current third quarter. This move should stabilize prices and set the stage for 2008, for which iSuppli predicts DRAM revenue growth of 17% - despite the fact that global annual bit growth in 2008 is believed to amount to less than 60%, compared to the 97% bit growth estimated for 2007.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33576/118/