Prices of DRAM memory slumped during the third quarter of this year to unprecedented levels, according to market research firm DRAM Exchange.
A survey it performed showed that commodity contract prices fell by 34 per cent, while prices in the more volatile spot market plummeted by 54 per cent during the period.
Different memory manufacturers were affected according to the proportion they relied on spot versus contract sales. A survey of the major manufacturers revealed that some, such as Taiwanese firm Nanya, did better in revenue terms than expected because of a shift by its partner Inotera to better process technology on 12-inch wafers.
However, said DRAM Exchange, Samsung was the only vendor which made profits. The table, courtesy of DRAM Exchange, shows revenue break down by brand, excluding revenue from outsourced DRAM vendors. X
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2008 WW Own Brand DRAM TopTen Revenue Ranking, in Million USD
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(Revenue of outsourced portion was excluded from the OEM DRAM vendors and included in the Brand DRAM companies)
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ranking
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company
|
Revenue
|
Market Share
|
|
3Q08
|
2Q08
|
QoQ
|
3Q08
|
2Q08
|
|
1
|
Samsung
|
1,520
|
1,686
|
-9.9%
|
23.9%
|
25.9%
|
|
2
|
Hynix
|
1,330
|
1,338
|
-0.6%
|
20.9%
|
20.5%
|
|
3
|
Elpida
|
1,056
|
1,044
|
1.1%
|
16.6%
|
16.0%
|
|
4
|
Micron
|
788
|
803
|
-1.8%
|
12.4%
|
12.3%
|
|
5
|
Qimonda
|
613
|
600
|
2.2%
|
9.6%
|
9.2%
|
|
6
|
Nanya
|
350
|
266
|
31.6%
|
5.5%
|
4.1%
|
|
7
|
Powerchip
|
254
|
304
|
-16.3%
|
4.0%
|
4.7%
|
|
8
|
ProMOS
|
210
|
234
|
-10.5%
|
3.3%
|
3.6%
|
|
9
|
Winbond
|
73
|
67
|
8.3%
|
1.1%
|
1.0%
|
|
10
|
Etron
|
64
|
63
|
1.0%
|
1.0%
|
1.0%
|
|
|
Others
|
97
|
106
|
-8.2%
|
1.5%
|
1.6%
|
|
|
Total
|
6,355
|
6,511
|
-2.4%
|
100.0%
|
100.0%
|
|