14 DAY TRIAL // People may not have caught on to just how far the situation on the DRAM market had gotten, but they might get an idea when they learn that some companies that make random access memory chips want to get rid of some of their factories.
Manufacturers of dynamic random access memory chips are in something of a bind right now.
After over a year of constant oversupply and price cuts, they have reached the point where they have to take drastic measures.
We already explained exactly what happened to make DRAM memory (DDR3 especially) so incredibly cheap when we said why memory was the best tech buy for this Christmas.
What we did not mention then was something that hadn't yet occurred, or at least hadn't reached the eyes and years of the international media.
At least two chip makers want to sell some of their fabs in order to get their finances back under control.
The companies in question are Powerchip Technology and ProMOS Technologies.
Both of them have big debts to banks, among other things, and are negotiating with them to extend the repayment of the loans.
Rexchip might buy Powerchip's P3 fab, something that would at least temporarily ease the financial burden.
This is just a possibility mentioned in passing, though, since Globalfoundries is actually the latest bidder.
The manufacturer is not alone in that either, as TSMC, UMC and VIS are also keeping their eyes on 12-inch facilities from local DRAM firms.
In the meantime, customers can expect memory to stay as cheap as it is, or get even cheaper if things continue to get more desperate.
To offer some context, 8 GB memory kits can be found up for sale, online, for about as much as 4 GB kits sold last year. Add to that how laptops have 4 GB standard memory now, instead of 2 GB, and the perspective is complete.