DRAM prices could increase as earthquake disrupts Micron's Taiwan operations

[nanoguy]

In brief: Recent disruptions at a Micron Technology manufacturing plant in Taoyuan, Taiwan, could result in a price hike for DRAM chips, depending on how long it takes for the company to resume operations at the facility.

Memory prices could rise after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Taiwan on Sunday, affecting production at several semiconductor fabs, including a Micron Technology manufacturing plant. Thankfully, the earthquake didn’t result in any injuries or loss of life, and the company said in a statement that all team members in Taiwan are safe.

As a result of the earthquake, Micron had to stop Fab 11, which is located near Taoyuan. The company is currently trying to assess the impact on the facility to determine the appropriate measures needed to return it to full production capacity. Rival DRAM manufacturer Nanya says its production facility in the region is operating normally following the earthquake, although it does expect to see a small hit on the monthly output in the short term. TSMC temporarily evacuated its workers from a few facilities in northern Taiwan, but otherwise didn't see an impact on production.

Image: Micron's Taoyuan facility

Micron currently makes around nine percent of the world’s DRAM chips, and the Taoyuan plant is responsible for more than a third of the company’s global production capacity. As is usually the case with factory shutdowns, DRAM prices could see an increase depending on how long it takes to examine the equipment, whether or not anything needs to be repaired or replaced, and how many wafers were damaged.

This could be a matter of days or it could stretch to several weeks, which is why investors are already pumping the company stock hoping to profit from the expected increase in DRAM prices. However, industry watchers as well as DRAM manufacturers predict a decrease in memory prices as most device manufacturers have enough stockpiles to last them for more than two months.

In related news, Micron is looking to build a $7 billion DRAM plant in Japan which could become operational in 2024. At the same time, the company will spend up to $150 billion on research and development as well as capital expenditures over the next 10 years, and is contemplating building a manufacturing plant in the US.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91936-dram-prices-could-increase-earthquake-disrupts-micron-taiwan.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

#1 I always max out my motherboard's memory capacity to ensure that I won't have to worry about component availability later on.

#2 There's no reason to rush - DDR4 is on its way out and DDR5 is the shiny new object on the shelf. Just hold on till DDR5 comes to market.

 

[emmzo]

I already see the next title: it was really cloudy and rainy over Taiwan for a couple of days, extremely depressing, so like, expect more price hikes. But really, every disaster imaginable hits Taiwan nowadays?

 

[Superconductor]

Early adopters ... please bend over.

 

[DrSuess]

I already see the next title: it was really cloudy and rainy over Taiwan for a couple of days, extremely depressing, so like, expect more price hikes. But really, every disaster imaginable hits Taiwan nowadays?

I'm sure a single fart in a clean room could shutdown production, and send prices higher.

 

[fps4ever]

Mother nature sure hates Taiwan electronic manufacturers.

 

[Endarial]

I already see the next title: it was really cloudy and rainy over Taiwan for a couple of days, extremely depressing, so like, expect more price hikes. But really, every disaster imaginable hits Taiwan nowadays?

I live in southern Taiwan and only found out about the quake from Reddit. Although, several hours after the initial quake, I did feel some aftershocks, although they were small. Although, having been near the epicenter of several large quakes, I can imagine that the 6.2 that hit would not have been the most fun. Thankfully Taiwan does a great job of building sturdy buildings.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

And right on que is the excuse to jack up DRAM prices again. Couldnt let them slide down for more then a month now could we?

Honestly they need to fine these memory makers a couple billion $ each for price fixing. They've been caught twice already, 0 reason to trust them.

 

[theruck]

A month ago there was an article stating dram prices will be lower
2 months ago there was an article dram prices will go down

 

[torchyear]

#2 There's no reason to rush - DDR4 is on its way out and DDR5 is the shiny new object on the shelf. Just hold on till DDR5 comes to market.

Unfortunately the adoption of DDR5 is no guarantee that DDR4 will be cheaper. DDR3 prices continued to go up when DDR4 went mainstream.

 

[Yenega]

#1 I always max out my motherboard's memory capacity to ensure that I won't have to worry about component availability later on.

#2 There's no reason to rush - DDR4 is on its way out and DDR5 is the shiny new object on the shelf. Just hold on till DDR5 comes to market.

So you have 64GB or more I guess?

 

[Yenega]

Unfortunately the adoption of DDR5 is no guarantee that DDR4 will be cheaper. DDR3 prices continued to go up when DDR4 went mainstream.

When DDR5 becomes mainstream, DDR4 price will go up, in the beginning DDR5 will be 50-75% more expensive than DDR4.