2022 DRAM Module Makers’ Revenues Fall 4.6%

According to a report by TrendForce Consulting, the surge in Qualcomm’s impact on consumer demand for electronic products led to global memory module sales amounting to $17.3 billion in 2022, a year-over-year decrease of 4.6%. Owing to the diverse areas served by module manufacturers, there exists a significant variance in their revenue performance.

In 2022, the top five global memory manufacturers accounted for a staggering 90% of total sales, with the leading ten encompassing 96% of the global memory market. Of this, Kingston alone dominated a monumental 78% of the memory sector. While its revenue witnessed a 5.3% decline from the previous year, it resolutely maintained its global preeminence, boasting one of the smallest revenue contractions.

Ramaxel Memory Technology claimed the second spot, experiencing an impressive revenue surge exceeding 90% in 2022. Their commendable growth in the server domain and consistent growth in PC OEM supplies undoubtedly contributed. However, this sharp increase can be attributed largely to the significant slump they experienced in 2021. Disregarding 2021 figures and comparing them with previous years reveals a more reasonable revenue performance.

Adata clinched the third position, primarily supplying the consumer market. Despite their proactive foray into industrial control, vehicular applications, and high-margin e-sports products last year, these ventures still form a relatively small portion of their portfolio. Consequently, they couldn’t mitigate the global demand contraction, resulting in a 10% revenue dip.

A detailed performance of other manufacturers can be discerned from the following table.

Shifting focus from the past year, projections for the upcoming quarter in memory and NAND flash markets suggest an anticipated 13-18% price surge in mobile memory contracts. Likewise, eMMC and UFS contract prices are expected to rise by 10-15%. Several factors fuel this trend: Samsung’s strategic production cuts, and Micron’s 20% price hike, solidifying industry-wide confidence in raising prices. Demand-wise, the latter half of the year is traditionally a peak sales season. Furthermore, the launch of Huawei’s Mate 60 series has invigorated domestic mobile brands to amplify production targets, stimulating demand and propelling Q4 price increases for mobile memory and NAND flash.

It’s anticipated that the price hike for storage devices will persist into the first quarter of 2024. However, given the traditional off-season and the influence of the Lunar New Year, the magnitude of this rise might be muted. The extent of this increase will hinge on whether manufacturers adopt a conservative investment strategy and the state of consumer market demand.