After contract prices of DRAM products turned downward sharply in 4Q18 by 10% QoQ, major DRAM manufacturers have tried to offset fall in prices by slowing down capacity expansion in 2019, as the demand outlook for PCs, servers, smartphones, and other end consumer products remains weak, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce.
According to the latest report by DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, the global server market has continued to grow in 2018, with the total shipments estimated to reach 12.42 million units, a YoY growth of around 5%. Dell EMC, HPE (including H3C), and Inspur will be the top three server suppliers with the shipment market shares of 16.7%, 15.1%, and 7.8% respectively.
DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, reports that the bit output from the NAND Flash industry in 2018 turned out to be higher than expected, as suppliers had steady yields of their 64-layer 3D NAND production. NAND Flash demand, however, has remained sluggish due to the looming trade war between China and the U.S., the shortage of Intel CPUs, and the lower-than-expected sales of new iPhone devices, despite the year-end busy season.
According to The Future of Smartphone Era Webinar by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, the global smartphone market has been approaching saturation, with less room for product differentiation. Thus, smartphone makers have shifted their focus to next-generation foldable models. WitsView expects the first foldable smartphone to be launched in 2019, accounting for only 0.1% in the global smartphone market. The penetration rate is estimated to reach 1.5% in 2021.
Contract prices of DRAM products have started to slide since 4Q18, and a certain amount of DRAM contracts have now been negotiated as monthly deals, instead of quarterly ones, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. For some contracts, the prices have been adjusted downward twice in this November, which was very rare in the industry. The situation indicates that the OEMs now have a negative outlook on the market and the price falls are expected to enlarge in the first quarter of 2019.