Back in 2008, demand for any sort of electronics, whether PC-related or otherwise, dropped so dramatically that companies were forced to reduce the pricing of their products to extremely low levels. Now, however, the situation has, more or less, resolved, though a somewhat different phenomenon has begun to manifest itself. In short, prices of certain components are actually higher than their makers, and the consumer base for that matter, would like.

There have been several reports that certain semiconductor-based products are more expensive than they should be. The latest of these has only just shown up, predictably on the Digitmes website. Apparently, none other than Transcend Information is of opinion that DRAM parts aren't as affordable as they should or could be.

Peter Su, Transcend Chairman, supposedly said that the device-end market is not progressing at the pace it could because DRAM is too expensive. For instance, parts cost, in average, more than US$2. Transcend believes that if costs can be driven under this threshold, demand will increase substantially.

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem poised to occur at any given time in the near future, as Su predicts that, instead of decreasing, prices will actually rise over the course of Q3-Q4 2010.

In related news, it seems that the same does not hold true, at the very least, for the NAND Flash industry, where Flash prices are, at least for the time being, acceptable to chip vendors, consumers and module vendors alike. Finally, the report, for some reason, makes a point of noting that, starting with October, about 20 new Transcend production lines will come online in Taipei. It is unclear whether the increased production capacity will assist in bringing memory prices to reasonable levels once again. A branch office will also soon be set up in Miami, to boost sales.