Memory update: DRAM market remains quiet, DDR3 inquiries increase

USA: According to Converge Market Insights, despite several contract price increases since the beginning of May, the DRAM market remains relatively quiet.

Module activity in the spot market remains absent; however, we are tracking an increase in inquires for DDR3 -- especially for server modules. Although there have not been any significant spot market buys for DDR3, there has been some concern regarding their supply situation for the next two to three months.

Spot market pricing for DDR3 is much higher than direct prices, in some cases as much as 10-15 percent higher. Converge believes that the box builders are increasing their output of systems with DDR3 memory for the upcoming build season.

The DRAM manufacturers aggressively priced DDR3 to speed up the adoption rate, and it appears to be stimulating some demand. There do not appear to be large quantities of DDR3 product available in the spot market, so this could be a development worth watching.