DRAM Industry Faces Further Shake Outs

From PC World: After the recent bankruptcy filing by German chip maker Qimonda as well as huge losses posted by several DRAM makers in the final three months of last year, it appeared the worst might be over for the industry.

But this week, more DRAM makers face loan repayments that could send them into a bankruptcy filing, or some other form of restructuring.

The impact for users is clear. The fallout is higher prices for DRAM, the most common memory chip in computers.

Spot market prices of all DRAM chips were up 25.7 percent week on week as of last Friday due to Qimonda's bankruptcy filing, according to market researcher Gartner.

Qimonda further worried DRAM traders last week by announcing the closure of an advanced factory in Richmond, Virginia, that Gartner estimates accounted for 3 percent of global capacity. With the amount of production lines in use dropping, many traders felt it was time to restock last week.

More shocks could soon hit the DRAM market and further raise prices.

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