On the heels of strong earnings in the third quarter of 2017, Samsung is forecast to overtake Intel as the top semiconductor manufacturer in 2017, according to IC Insights. This will be the first time Intel has slipped in the top annual ranking since 1993. Intel is forecast to trail Samsung by $4.6 billion in…
Is Samsung’s massive $26 billion semiconductor capex only delaying China’s push into the memory device market? While it’s not likely to halt China’s inevitable drive into the DRAM and NAND flash markets despite technology challenges, it may wield a bigger influence on its competitors’ capex plans as Samsung protects its leadership position. For buyers, it…
Component shortages are not just about increased demand. Any number of factors – production capacity, supply chain disruptions, obsolescence and technology migration – can contribute to product scarcity. For 2017 and 2018, supplier merger and acquisition (M&A) activity can be added to the causation list. Semiconductor and tech mergers reached an all-time high in 2016 and formed…
Contract DRAM prices increased by five percent in the third quarter of 2017, compared to the previous quarter, driving record quarterly revenues for DRAM makers, according to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. Due to continued tight supply and limited bit supply growth, DRAM revenue increased 16.2 percent sequentially. The market outlook for the fourth quarter indicates…
Due to rising demand for OLED displays in smartphones and high-end flat panel TVs, panel manufacturers are making bigger investments in new OLED display fab construction, according to market research firm IHS Markit. This investment is expected to increase global production capacity of AMOLED panels — including both red-green-blue (RGB) OLED and white OLED (WOLED)…
Over the past two years, memory device buyers have faced DRAM supply issues due to curtailed production capacity expansion and technology migration challenges. This also translated into double-digit price hikes. Samsung is now considering production capacity expansion for DRAM, which could potentially end tight supply for DRAM sooner than anticipated, according DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce.…
The average grade of 17 leading consumer electronics companies evaluated by Greenpeace USA on sustainable manufacturing and design of IT products was a D+. Fairphone ranked the best overall with a B, followed by Apple with a B-, and Dell and HP both with a C+. The remaining manufacturers including Samsung, Huawei and Amazon scored…
Verticalization – or the more modern version of it – is in vogue again and its embrace by the biggest and most powerful OEMs is roiling the electronics industry as the opportunities and sizes of markets served by semiconductor makers, component distributors and software developers shrink further, forcing a re-evaluation of their roles, offerings and…
Supply and demand for NAND flash products will be in balance in 2018 as manufacturers migrate to 64- and 72-layer stacking technologies, according to industry players. Tight supply in the NAND flash market since the third quarter of 2016 is attributed to higher memory content in smartphones, a strong server market, and slow technology migrations.…
There is good and bad news for buyers of memory devices. The good news is a deal to acquire Toshiba’s memory business may result in an oversupply of NAND flash in the first half of 2018, easing concerns of tight supply next year. However, cautious production capacity plans by leading DRAM makers means continued tight…