Spansion bumps Intel as the leader in NOR flash memory
By Jim Carbone -- Purchasing, 3/1/2007 10:58:00 AM
Intel is no longer king of the hill in NOR flash memory. Spansion Inc. increased its NOR flash memory revenue 25.6% in 2006 to displace Intel as the leading global supplier of NOR flash.
Spansion’s 2006 NOR flash memory totaled $2.57 billion while Intel’s NOR revenue slipped 9.9% to $2.05 billion. Spansion’s NOR growth rate was three times the industry 8.1% growth rate and the chip supplier now has 34% of the NOR flash market, up from 26% in 2005, says researcher iSuppli.
While Spansion’s NOR share rose, Intel’s fell from 29% in 2005 to 24.2% in 2006. STMicroelectronics was the third largest NOR supplier with revenue of $1.34 billion and 15.8% market share up from 14.1% in 2005.
Although there was growth, 2006 was a tough year for most NOR suppliers, according to Mark DeVoss, senior analyst with iSuppli.
“While 2006 was not as brutal as 2005, when overall revenue declined by 15.5%, market conditions were still daunting, characterized by eroding prices in all market segments,” he says. “Price erosion was most pronounced in the mobile-phone sector, which represents the largest market for NOR flash.”
NOR flash revenue rose to $8.5 billion in 2006, up from $7.9 billion in 2005, and unit shipments increased. However, suppliers continued to post losses due to downward price pressure.
Intel and STMicroelectronics were in the process of integrating NAND flash into their respective product portfolios.
iSuppli says consolidation of the NOR flash industry is inevitable, but would not forecast when consolidation would take place and who would be involved.
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