Dominant Position
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are the two dominant players in the global DRAM market. Since each company is in the top three of the global rankings, the two firms are likely to record good performance regardless of market conditions.
According to market research firm IHS iSuppli on June 24, Samsung maintained its top DRAM maker spot in the first quarter of this year, except in PC DRAM. SK Hynix occupied the top spot in DRAM chips for PCs, and the runner-up position in the rest of the areas, aside from mobile DRAM.
By category, SK Hynix made up 33.2 percent of the PC DRAM market, which put the firm in the number one position, followed by Micron Technology (32.1 percent) and Samsung (26.3 percent). The industry thinks that the normalization of the plant in Wuxi staring in Q1 2014 contributed to SK Hynix’s increased market share.
Samsung maintained its iron-fisted grip of the global mobile DRAM market with a 43.9 percent share. Micron Technology snatched second place from SK Hynix by acquiring troubled Japanese firm Elpida Memory, thus beating its Korean rival (23.6 percent) with a 29.8 percent share.
In the server system area, Samsung (43.5 percent) and SK Hynix (34.1 percent) are fiercely competing with each other. The two companies represented 77.6 percent of the market in Q1 2014.
As for the digital appliance field, Samsung (30.3 percent) and SK Hynix (20.6 percent) ranked first and second. However, other firms outside the top three constituted 30.6 percent of the market. Thus, a large number of companies are fighting for global dominance.
In the graphics card category, the two Korean firms comprised the overwhelming majority of the market, with Samsung at a 60.7 percent share and SK Hynix at 31.0 percent.