Early September contract prices for 2GB DDR3 modules stayed unchanged at US$10.75 on average, whereas 4GB parts continued trending downward to US$20-21, price tracker DRAMeXchange has revealed. Average prices for corresponding 1Gb and 2Gb chips arrived at US$0.52 and US$1.13, respectively.

At the spot market, prices for branded and effectively tested (eTT) 1Gb and 2Gb DRAM chips all trended upward on September 14, according to DRAMeXchange. Prices for branded 2Gb DDR3, in particular, rose by as much as 9% in one day to close at US$1.10 on average.

Industry watchers credited the recent recovery in spot market prices to production cutbacks at Taiwan-based suppliers. Companies including Inotera Memories, Nanya Technology and Powerchip Technology reportedly are being forced to cut back production amid weak PC demand for PCs and slumping chip prices.

With spot pricing gaining momentum recently, contract prices have moved to stabilize in the first half of September with flat growth or less-significant drops, the watchers observed. DRAM contract prices had fallen since June.

Affected by several suppliers' production cutbacks, total DRAM output worldwide will see an about 12% reduction in the second half of 2011 compared to the first half, the watchers estimated.

In other news, more DRAM producers intend to diversify their product lines, dedicating more efforts to making non-PC DRAM products such as server DRAM and mobile RAM chips. Several players, in particular Taiwan companies, have switched their business focus to production on an OEM basis.