The revenue of the DRAM industry dropped by more than 30% quarter-on-quarter in 4Q22

According to previous reports, the DRAM industry revenue in Q3 2022 was $18.19 billion, a 28.9% decrease compared to the previous quarter. Recently, TrendForce released a report stating that the DRAM industry revenue in Q4 2022 fell by more than 30% compared to the previous quarter.

In Q4 2022, the DRAM industry revenue was $12.28 billion, a 32.5% decrease compared to the previous quarter, which exceeded the decline of 28.9% in Q3 2022 and was close to the single-season decline of 36% during the 2008 financial crisis. The revenue decline was mainly due to the decrease in the average selling price (ASP) of DRAM products. In Q3 2022, DRAM supplier inventories accumulated rapidly. To seize the shipment market share in Q4, various suppliers inevitably competed for orders by lowering prices. In Q4 2022, the prices of DDR4 memory and DDR5 memory fell by 23-28% and 30-35%, respectively.

In terms of revenue, Samsung‘s Q4 2022 DRAM revenue was $5.54 billion, a 25.1% decrease compared to the previous quarter, and its market share was 45.1%, which still firmly held the first position in the market share, leading the second place by a significant margin. SK Hynix’s Q4 2022 DRAM revenue was $3.398 billion, a 35.2% decrease compared to the previous quarter, and its market share was 27.7%, ranking second. Micron’s DRAM revenue was $2.829 billion, a 41.2% decrease compared to the previous quarter, and its market share was 23%, ranking third.

In terms of production capacity planning, Samsung’s newly completed Pyeongtaek semiconductor factory P3L production line has started small-scale trial production in Q1 2022, which is the main force for Samsung’s DRAM capacity expansion. SK Hynix announced a production reduction in Q3 2021, and its capacity utilization rate in Q1 2022 was 92%, which is expected to decline to 82% in Q2. Micron’s capacity utilization rate was 84%, and it is expected to remain at the same level throughout 2023.