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Gross sales of the global DRAM module market for 2014 was $8.8 billion, a 21% increase over the 2013 gross sales of $7.3 billion, according to a new report by market analyst DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce.
This dramatic growth was attributed to the stabilization of prices for PC DRAM and the rise of contract transactions relative to spot trades.
The top five module manufacturers remained dominant, accounting for 81% of the 2014 gross sales. Moreover, the top 10 companies made up 92% of the market revenue for that year.
Kingston firmly established itself as the industry leader with an annual revenue growth of 44%. Ramaxel and ADATA took the second and third place with impressive performances as well.
DRAMeXchange’s research shows 2014 was a very profitable year for the DRAM industry as the market consolidated into an oligopoly that brought the supply-demand situation under control. With the right product mix strategies, manufacturers also benefitted from the brisk sales of smartphones and the steadily growing server market. As a result, DRAM prices was steady throughout the entire 2014, with the average contract price of DDR3 4Gb staying at $3.65. This was an 18% increase over the 2013’s contract price of $3.10.
The spot market for 2014 had also been strong with the average price hanging around $4. This was a 17% jump compared with the spot price of $3.43 during 2013. The price difference between the contract and spot market was roughly 10% in 2014, so the module companies enjoyed a significant increase over 2013 in their annual revenue. The leading companies also became stronger than ever.
