Insufficient supply of hydrogen fluoride seriously affects memory chip production, and memory prices are rapidly rebounding
According to BusinessKorea, as the Japanese government restricts the export of semiconductor materials to South Korea, the international spot price of memory chips is rapidly rebounding. In this case, the global semiconductor market is expected to be better than previously expected.
According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, DRAM spot prices have risen both last week and this week, while NAND flash prices have started to rise at the end of last month. The price of PCDRAM (DDR48Gb) rose by 11.8% from July 11 to 15, while the DDR34Gb rate rose by 13.7%. In the same period, the price of NAND flash memory (64GbMLC) increased by 3.6%.
This is more optimistic than previous predictions. A month ago, DRAMeXchange predicted that NAND flash and DRAM prices would bottom out in the third quarter of this year and the second quarter of 2020, respectively.
This unexpected change is related to export restrictions that began last week. “Japan’s export restrictions on South Korea have led to a rapid recovery in demand for NAND flash memory,” Kiwoom Securities explained. “The price of 3DNAND is approaching its lower limit, and due to Toshiba’s blackouts and export restrictions, it may further stimulate them to cause a rapid decline in inventory. In this case, customers want to buy more memory products."
The industry is concerned about the purchase of hydrogen fluoride, which is one of the chemicals restricted by the Japanese government. This is because if the economic dispute between Korea and Japan continues for a long time, insufficient supply will seriously affect the production of memory chips.
At present, 43.9% of the hydrogen fluoride used by Korean companies comes from Japan. Japan's supply is almost irreplaceable because it is much more pure, and semiconductor manufacturing processes essentially do not allow for the mixing of materials. This means that extending export restrictions may result in a decline in memory chip production, mainly due to insufficient supply of hydrogen fluoride.
According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, DRAM spot prices have risen both last week and this week, while NAND flash prices have started to rise at the end of last month. The price of PCDRAM (DDR48Gb) rose by 11.8% from July 11 to 15, while the DDR34Gb rate rose by 13.7%. In the same period, the price of NAND flash memory (64GbMLC) increased by 3.6%.
This is more optimistic than previous predictions. A month ago, DRAMeXchange predicted that NAND flash and DRAM prices would bottom out in the third quarter of this year and the second quarter of 2020, respectively.
This unexpected change is related to export restrictions that began last week. “Japan’s export restrictions on South Korea have led to a rapid recovery in demand for NAND flash memory,” Kiwoom Securities explained. “The price of 3DNAND is approaching its lower limit, and due to Toshiba’s blackouts and export restrictions, it may further stimulate them to cause a rapid decline in inventory. In this case, customers want to buy more memory products."
The industry is concerned about the purchase of hydrogen fluoride, which is one of the chemicals restricted by the Japanese government. This is because if the economic dispute between Korea and Japan continues for a long time, insufficient supply will seriously affect the production of memory chips.
At present, 43.9% of the hydrogen fluoride used by Korean companies comes from Japan. Japan's supply is almost irreplaceable because it is much more pure, and semiconductor manufacturing processes essentially do not allow for the mixing of materials. This means that extending export restrictions may result in a decline in memory chip production, mainly due to insufficient supply of hydrogen fluoride.