Korean DRAM makers take 70% of the market

Korean companies accounted for more than 70 percent of the global market for DRAM in the fourth quarter, the largest share recorded by the companies, according to leading e-commerce website DRAMeXchange.

The website said Thursday that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together took 70.4 percent of the market share in the last three months of 2014.

Korean companies’ combined share reached 69.7 percent in the third quarter of 2014. The second-highest figure was in the fourth quarter of 2012 at 69.6 percent.

Samsung accounted for 41.4 percent of the global market share while SK Hynix controlled 27.8 percent.

Their combined share is 69.2 percent, but the number surpasses 70 percent when adding in the share of smaller Korean DRAM companies included in the 1.8 percent of the market held by “others.”

Following Korea, U.S. manufacturers accounted for 24.4 percent of the total market, while Taiwan took 5.3 percent.

By company, U.S.-based Micron Technology came in third after Samsung and SK Hynix with 24 percent, followed by Taiwanese DRAM producer Nanya Technology with 3.1 percent, Winbond Electronics with 1.3 percent and Powerchip Technology with 0.8 percent.

DRAMeXchange pointed out that Korean manufacturers stay ahead by constantly increasing their productivity through micro-processing technology.

Samsung Electronics started mass producing the world’s first mobile DRAM 8Gb LPDDR4 last quarter, which has a 20-nanometer processor. The company’s production of 25-nanometer processors is also growing.

SK Hynix posted a 13 percent revenue increase in the fourth quarter.

BY KIM JUNG-YOON [kjy@joognang.co.kr]