Samsung storms ahead in shrinking DRAM market

Samsung has increased its share of the DRAM memory market, according to new figures from iSuppli.

The South Korean manufacturer sold almost $4.4bn (£2.7bn) worth of DRAM in the third quarter, up 14.3 per cent on the previous three months, giving it over 40 per cent of the market.

By contrast, the next three competitors - Hyrix, Elpida and Micron - all saw their market share fall, down to barely 10 per cent in Micron's case.

"Samsung has been vocal about its desire to expand its DRAM market share to as high as 50 per cent. The third-quarter results show that Samsung has put its money where its mouth is," said Mike Howard, senior analyst at iSuppli.

"By investing heavily in expanding production and advancing its manufacturing technology, the company has been able to cut pricing and eat into the market share of its competitors."

Samsung's performance was even more impressive when viewed against a 0.6 per cent fall in DRAM sales over the third quarter to $10.72bn (£6.67bn).

However, Samsung's increasingly dominant position could create new obstacles for the company, according to Howard.

"The only limitations on Samsung's growth will be how much share its largest PC OEM customers will allow it to take, how long the company can continue to cut prices, and how much it can increase its dominance before government regulators raise anti-competitive concerns," he said.