Semiconductor Market News(DEC. 18 to DEC. 24)丨MCU prices to remain for some time; The average price of mobile memory chips increased...

01. Memory inventory?return?to normal levels, and booming market demand for its

Due to weak terminal consumption, there is less demand in the market.?According to the latest report from Morgan Stanley, MCU prices will not increase in the short term. If inventory adjustments are completed and demand rebounds, there is a possibility of recovery in the second half of 2024. Morgan Stanley named Espress,?Gigadevice, Nuvoton, and Chipsea? technology as optimistic prospects.

In December, ST's?spot prices for 32-bit MCUs fell by about 11% from the previous month.?Spot prices in December remained the same as the previous quarter. According to the latest channel survey, consumer demand remains flat.?Industrial demand remains weak due to a slowdown in macro activity and continued destocking.

Morgan Stanley noted that the spot market atmosphere remains weak.?Therefore, dealers are not expected to raise prices in the short term. As the year comes to an end, some end customers are selling part of their inventory to collect cash. This indicates that inventory adjustments are currently underway. If there is no significant increase in demand, spot prices may remain stable in the next 1-2 quarters.

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02. Mobile DRAM, eMMC/UFS Prices to Surge 18–23% in 1Q24 as Smartphone Brands Continue Stockpiling

TrendForce predicts a significant rise in mobile DRAM and NAND Flash (eMMC/UFS) prices for the first quarter of 2024, with an expected seasonal increase of 18–23%. This surge could be further amplified in a market dominated by a few major players or if brand clients resort to panic buying under pressure.

Observations for 1Q24 indicate steady production planning by Chinese smartphone OEMs. A clear rise in memory prices is driving buyers to actively increase their purchasing efforts as they aim to establish secure and competitively priced inventory levels.

TrendForce further points out that the smartphone market has often been an early indicator of economic downturns, with buyers and sellers continuously adjusting their inventories in the supply chain. Yet, as stockpiles reach their lowest points and the impact of reduced manufacturing persists, a robust rise in smartphone memory prices is set in motion.

All in all, the onset of 2024 will likely see memory prices rising higher than other sectors. This escalation—fueled by sustained demand from clients and the slow operational scale-up by manufacturers—is expected to widen the supply-demand gap. Memory prices are anticipated to be the leading factor in this upward trend for the season.

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03. Intense Competition in DDIC Supply Market Expected in 2024, with Continued Pressure on Prices

TrendForce's latest inbestigations forecast an exciting yet challenging year for the DDIC market in 2024. With prices in 2023 mostly stabilizing or showing a slight decline, the upcoming year is poised for a transformative shift. The market is bracing for a significant upward swing in demand—particularly for large-scale applications like TVs, gaming monitors, and commercial notebooks—which is set to drive a notable increase in panel shipments and consequently, a spike in DDIC demand. Despite this promising outlook, however, DDIC prices are expected to continue their downward trend due to ongoing market pressures.

Reflecting on the 2023 DDIC market, TrendForce observed that even as TV panel prices rebounded, panel makers felt short-lived relief and continued pressure to reduce costs from upstream component suppliers. This situation has compelled DDIC suppliers to strategically enhance their product designs for cost-effectiveness and forge stronger partnerships with more economical foundries.

04. Micron revenue forecasts strong recovery, shares jump

Micron?forecast quarterly revenue above market estimates on Wednesday, and its shares jumped nearly 5% in extended trading on signs of memory chip recovery in 2024 after one of the most significant downturns in years.

Demand for flash storage and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) should keep improving next year, while at the same time supply will begin to approach historically normal levels, the memory chipmaker said.

Memory prices, which slumped this year, will improve next year and rise further in 2025, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a conference call.

Micron forecast revenue of $5.3 billion, plus or minus $200 million, for the second quarter, compared with estimates of $5.03 billion, according to LSEG data.

Micron said it expects the supply of chips for PCs, mobile devices and other chips to approach normal levels in the first half of next year.

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05.NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D China-Exclusive GPU Rumored To Launch On 28th December

NVIDIA's China-Exclusive GeForce RTX 4090 D GPU seems to be heading to gamers sooner than expected within this month.

Based on the latest information that we have regarding the specifications, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D is expected to feature a cut-down variant of the Ada Lovelace GPU we got on the RTX 4090. ???This variant is designated as the AD102-250-A1 SKU and should offer lower core counts to keep it within the TPP (Total Processing Performance) requirements set by the US government and make it comply with the latest export rules.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D GPU is said to feature a base clock of 2280 MHz which is 45 MHz higher than the RTX 4090 & ?the boost clock speed is rated at the same 2520 MHz. The card is likely to retain the 24 GB GDDR6X memory with over 1 TB/s of bandwidth and a TGP of over 400W.

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06.Hyundai Motor to shut South Korean parts plants in pivot toward EVs

Hyundai Motor?said on Thursday it plans to stop operations at two parts forging plants in South Korea next year as the automaker accelerates a shift away from petrol-powered cars.

The plants in Ulsan, South Korea, which have been in operation since 1991 making engine parts, are expected to be closed in January and October, respectively.

Hyundai Motor, the world's No.3 automaker by sales with its affiliate Kia Corp, is gradually reducing the proportion of internal combustion engines in its finished cars in favour of electrified vehicles.

In November, it broke ground on a 2 trillion won plant dedicated to making electric vehicles?(EVs) in South Korea.

A Hyundai spokesperson said it is reviewing outsourcing some of the engine components manufacturing done at the facilities for the time being.