Chinese regulators are investigating DRAM and NAND price fixing
Over the past year, the PC industry has seen considerable increases in both DRAM and NAND prices, making several computer components more expensive to produce. In this case, supply has not kept up with increasing demand, with PCs, mobile phones, home consoles and other products using more RAM and NAND-based storage than ever before.
Chinese regulators have now opened a price-fixing investigation with Xu Xinyu, a senior official within China’s National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) stating that they have “noticed the price surge and will pay more attention to future problems that may be caused by ‘price fixing’ in the sector”.
Price fixing is when supply is intentionally tightened to increase demand, resulting in an increased price for DRAM and higher profit margins for producers. In this case, China believes that companies like SK Hynix, Samsung and Toshiba may have coordinated to push the prices of DRAM and NAND as high as possible, having a knock-on effect on all products that use DRAM and NAND-based memory.
This investigation also comes at a time where several Chinese companies plan to enter the NAND market, though these companies are not expected to gain a significant market share due to their current inability to product modern 3D NAND like other major manufacturers. These technological disadvantages will limit their growth potential, especially as today's supply issues are alleviated.
If the NDRC finds evidence of price-fixing, the companies responsible will be penalised by the Chinese government, though at this time there is no proof to support these claims.
In 2018, the supply of NAND is expected to increase significantly, with most memory producers increasing production by expanding production lines or opening new facilities.
Really that's your response? Apathetic.... And a troll like "You mad bro" comment afterward? You don't care about run away memory prices? 1 year ago you could buy 16GB for ~$79... It's doubled.Samsung + Hynix + Micron's reponse to China:
ROFLMAO... and so what?
You feeling salty?
By definition, it is price fixing.There is nothing here, since they learned, all you have to do is slow the factory output, and prices go up.
That isn't price fixing.
Collusion is an agreement between two or more parties, sometimes illegal–but always secretive–to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair market advantage.Would it not also be collusion?
Really that's your response? Apathetic.... And a troll like "You mad bro" comment afterward? You are a ***********? You don't care about run away memory prices? 1 year ago you could buy 16GB for ~$79... It's doubled.
He's saying that's what the memory companies will say to China, and that's just his posting style.
Really that's your response? Apathetic.... And a troll like "You mad bro" comment afterward? You don't care about run away memory prices? 1 year ago you could buy 16GB for ~$79... It's doubled.
Oh is he thinking that comment was directed at him?
OP that is my response in what the big 3 chip makers will say to china's regulators, not to your post.
of course i am mad... i don't like the prices at all, but honestly do you think companies like Samsung and Hynix even care about China's regulators?
Lets just take a look at who the major ram chip makers are...
Samsung - KOREAN company that refuses to even build fabs in China because they dont want their tech stolen. I am being serious, Samsung's executive board stated to korean press, they will NEVER have fabs in China for IC or even their Galaxy line series because they dont want that tech stolen.
Most of samsung's fabs are based in Seoul Korea. Do you really think they care what the regulators say?
Hynix - Again another KOREAN company that has the same views as Samsung. They even got busted by US regulators a while back, and they just shurged them off. Remember the Hynix scandal way back?
Micron - These guys might care, but China wont do anything.... Micron has some fabs in Taiwan, but Taiwan hates mainland china.
Do you again think they will care what China says when they wont even declare themselves part of main china?
So as much as we the consumers hate it, China's regulators starting an investigation and whats so not, wont mean jack squat to the ram makers. This is only a sad attempt at China to get some publicity, but wont end up positive to us consumers.
What is China going to do? Ban Trade with Korea on the import of Ram? Then some unscrupulous businessman will import it from :
Korea -> Taiwan -> Hong Kong -> Main land China, and then there goes your product ban....
https://gizmodo.com/5544505/samsung-led-cartel-fined-404-million-in-price-fixing-scandal
Remember this?
Yet the memory cartel just laughed it off...
Did it hurt any of them?
No infact it just made 2 of them even bigger while killing off the little guys...
AS much as i hate the prices, and believe me i absolutely hate it....
I paid $510 back in august for 64gb of ddr4 c15's, and now the price on that same ram is $800.....
It makes PC building a train wreck, because now the RAM component costs almost on PAR as the cpu / board to the average builder.
Not unless they all got together and all agreed to do it.By definition, it is price fixing.
Price fixing is an agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors that raises, lowers, or stabilizes prices or competitive terms. Generally, the antitrust laws require that each company establish prices and other terms on its own, without agreeing with a competitor. When consumers make choices about what products and services to buy, they expect that the price has been determined freely on the basis of supply and demand, not by an agreement among competitors. When competitors agree to restrict competition, the result is often higher prices. Accordingly, price fixing is a major concern of government antitrust enforcement
You ignored "inferred by conduct." Reducing supply across the industry to drive prices up is price fixing.Not unless they all got together and all agreed to do it.
Again, all they have to do is dedicate their factories to produce less of DRAM, and more of something else, and there would be no case here.
Yeah, it sucks, but, we need more players to fix this, unless they did get together, then, we will all get a $1 check in the mail.