DRAM makers have sped up their move to producing DDR3
chips after prices for contract quotes for DDR2 parts fell through the
floor.
According to
DigiTimes, Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) and its joint venture
with Elpida Memory, Rexchip Electronics, were both quoted in previous
reports as indicating that their shares of DDR3 wafer starts would
exceed 70 per cent. PSC and Rexchip have increased DDR3 output. Their DDR3
production was as low as 0-5% of overall output in the third quarter.
Nanya Technology and Inotera Memories are also flat out.
Nanya wants DDR3 to account for more than half of the combined
production at Nanya and Inotera in the first quarter. According to a DRAMeXchange July report, DDR3 chips would
account for 90 percent of Nanya's and 20 per cent of Inotera's overall
DRAM production in the fourth quarter of 2009.
DRAMeXchange said that contract prices for 2GB DDR3
modules, which had stayed flat since November 2009, edged up by two to five
per cent in the first half of January. In contrast, the 2GB DDR2 segment
remained unchanged. The price tracker also pointed out demand for
DDR3 chips is strong.