(Choi Hong-seop, hschoi@chosun.com )
The price of flash memory chips is rising sharply, as demand has shot upwards. On the other hand, the DRAM memory chip market is shrinking, and the price of DRAM memory chips is falling.
A flash memory chip enables a computer that has been turned off to store data. It is used in devices such as digital cameras, cellular phones, and mp3 players. DRAM memory chips, however, are often used in personal computers.
As a result of the changing market, Hynix, Infinion, and Micron, producers of DRAM chips, are preparing to produce flash memory chips. Samsung and Toshiba, who make both DRAM and flash memory chips, have reduced the production of DRAM ships and increased the production of flash memory chips.
Currently, Samsung is ranked first in flash memory production. In July, Samsung surpassed Intel of the United States, which had been the global market leader. At the end of last year, Samsung's supply of flash memory semiconductor chips was enough for 18 days; now the supply is good for only one or two days.
The price of a 512-megabite NAND flash chip has also been rising: US$10 in the second quarter, US$12 in the third quarter, and US$13 in the fourth quarter. Sales of Samsung's flash memory chips has risen sharply: the firm had W364 billion in sales in the first quarter, and is expected to exceed W1 trillion during the fourth quarter, the first time ever.
Hwang Chang-gyu, the president of Samsung Electronics, said the firm is currently able to supply only 40 to 50 percent of the total orders received. Even though other companies began to manufacture NAND flash chips in the latter half of next year, the shortage is expected to last for some times. Samsung's NAND production line is in full operation, trying to maximize its output.
Toshiba recently decided to invest an additional 12.9 billion yen to build a flash memory chip production line. Samsung and Toshiba are also converting a portion of their DRAM producing lines to into ones that could make flash memory chips.
On the other hand, the price of a 256-megabite DDR DRAM, which used to be a core export product for Korea, dropped to under US$4. Chung Chang-won, an analyst at Daewoo Securities, pointed out two factors to this downfall: demand for DRAM chips fell short of the expectations during the high season, and Taiwanese companies expanded their production of medium to low-price chips.
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