According to the report, memory applications and inventory levels are normalizing as the device market stabilizes, driven by increased demand for AI in data centers. This recovery follows the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to IDC, this normalization has boosted the integrated device manufacturing (IDM) market in the first quarter of 2024, with high-bandwidth memory (HBM) playing a key role.
HBM, which is 4-5 times more expensive than traditional memory, has squeezed DRAM capacity in the device market, driving up prices and significantly boosting memory market revenue. The launch of AI PCs and smartphones that require more memory also contributed to this growth. In 1Q24, three of the top five IDM vendors were memory-related, accounting for nearly half of the top 10 vendors’ revenue.
The top 10 vendors include Samsung, Intel, SK Hynix, Micron, Infineon, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, NXP, Sony and Murata. Memory is expected to remain a key driver of the IDM market in the second half of 2024, driven by increasing demand for AI in data centers and devices.
In the first quarter of 2024, computing continued to lead the IDM application, accounting for 35% of the market, up from 29% last year, followed by wireless communications. However, the automotive market slowed due to high chip inventories, and the industrial market focused on reducing excess inventory. These markets are expected to prioritize inventory adjustments in the first half of 2024 before recovering in the third quarter.
“Memory makers will remain major players in the global IDM market in 2024. Demand from the automotive and industrial sectors is expected to recover in the second half of the year as inventory levels gradually normalize, contributing to the growth of the IDM market,” Helen Chan, head of IDC’s Asia Pacific semiconductor research team, said in a press release.
