Elpida Memory has recently moved 20,000 to 30,000 12-inch wafers of capacity at its Hiroshima plant back to PC DRAM chips due to an unexpected slowing in orders for mobile DRAM used in newly-popular tablets, according to industry sources.
Elpida was among the early entrants in the field of mobile DRAM targeted at smartphones and tablets, and reportedly broke into Apple's supply chain, the sources observed. Earlier in 2011, the Japan-based DRAM supplier stepped up efforts to allocate more in-house capacity to mobile DRAM production, while requiring subsidiary Rexchip Electronics and contract manufacturers Powerchip Technology and ProMOS Technologies to supply more standard DRAM parts for conventional computers. The moves are to fill the demand for Apple's devices, the sources indicated.
Monthly capacity at Elpida's Hiroshima plant is estimated at 120,000 12-inch wafers, the sources said, adding that about 100,000 units were originally planned to produce mobile DRAM chips.
However, concerns have been raised recently that the mobile DRAM supply chain might see oversupply pressure later in 2011 as demand seems to have not been strong as previously expected. Elpida is also being affected as orders from Apple have slowed down recently, the sources pointed out.
In February 2011, Elpida remarked that its in-house capacity would all be shifted to producing mobile DRAM chips while production of PC DRAM is being outsourced to contract partners in Taiwan. The vendor also viewed mobile DRAM as the next commodity type of chip, and suggested that DRAM companies should step into producing mobile DRAM in order to survive.