The average and highest contract prices of mainstream DDR4 4GB modules remained at US$33 and US$34, respectively, in March, according to DRAMeXchange. Contract prices for PC DRAM saw an average increase of around 5% in the first quarter compared to fourth-quarter 2017.

Nitrogen supply issues at Micron Memory Taiwan may prolong the current tight supply of the DRAM market, and is expected to push up contract prices of PC DRAM by 3% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, said DRAMeXchange.

Micron Technology reported on March 20 that subsidiary Micron Memory Taiwan (formerly Rexchip Electronics) experienced an interruption of nitrogen gas supply due to the malfunctioning of gas generation systems located outside the facility. The malfunctioning tools were sent back to the US for repairs, and have been fixed and delivered to the Taiwan facility.

Micron Memory Taiwan is expected to resume full production in early April, DRAMeXchange indicated.

Micron Memory Taiwan makes PC DRAM, server DRAM, LPDDR4 DRAM and graphics DRAM. The interruption of nitrogen supply is going to have some impact on the facility's production from late March to the first half of April, DRAMeXchange said.

The event is also going to prolong the tight supply situation in the whole DRAM market, DRAMeXchange noted. The graphics DRAM segment is going to get hit the hardest by the production hiccup at Micron Memory Taiwan.