World DRAM Market to Grow 25 Pct. in 2000: Nikkei Survey
March 6, 2000 (TOKYO) -- The global market for DRAM microchips will likely expand 25.4 percent from a year ago to US$27.58 billion in 2000, marking the second consecutive year of increase, according to a survey conducted by Nikkei Market Access.
If this total is reached, it will be the second highest level since 1995, when it posted a record high.
The continuing expansion of the DRAM market in recent years is due mainly to a steady increase in sales of personal computers. However, the survey warns that the market could see its growth slow down in 2001 and later, unless DRAMs are used for products other than PCs as main memory devices.
In 1996, DRAM prices nosedived, sending the ratio of the cost of DRAMs to the entire PC cost to below 10 percent, compared with 10 percent to 20 percent in 1995 and before. Industry observers say there is no sign that the ratio could turn up again. If not, the expansion of the DRAM market will be limited by the growth of the PC market, the survey said.
Production of DRAMs in 2000 will be dominated by four companies -- Micron Technology Inc. of the United States, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd., both in Korea, and Infineon Technologies AG of Germany, with a total estimated 70 percent market share in terms of numbers of bits.
By contrast, the combined world share of Japanese makers will drop from some 47 percent in 1995 to around 25 percent in 2000, as they are shifting the target of their production from DRAMs to SRAM microchips. SRAMs are mainly used in cellular phones, flash memories and logic ICs for consumer digital appliances.
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