Intel remains top flash memory IC supplier
Staff -- Purchasing, 4/17/2003 2:00:00 AM
The growth in demand for nand flash memory helped make Samsung Electronics the second largest flash memory supplier in 2002. Intel maintained its top spot in flash memory with revenue of $2.05 billion.
Samsung increased its flash sales from just $374 million in 2001 to $1.2 billion in 2002, a 224% increase. Samsung displaced AMD as the second largest producer of flash. AMD's flash sales dropped 35% to $727 million. Toshiba, which also makes nand flash, was third in flash revenue with $842 million, an increase of 54% from 2001, according to market intelligence provider iSuppli.
Samsung and Toshiba boosted sales although the flash memory market was essentially flat. Revenue increased marginally from $7.82 billion to $7.88 billion.
However, sales of nand flash, which is used for data storage in many consumer electronics devices, grew dramatically. Nand flash sales increased from $1.2 billion in 2001 to $2.1 billion in 2002, according to Jim Cantore, principal analyst memory for iSuppli. He says nand flash sales were driven by digital still cameras and MP3 players. Samsung and Toshiba are the leading providers of nand flash.
Revenue from shipments of nor flash, used in cell phones and other devices for code storage, declined to $5.7 billion in 2002 from $6.6 billion in 2001.
Buyers can expect weak nand flash prices in the coming months; Toshiba has added capacity and prices have been falling for the past several months.
Top 10 flash suppliers
| Rank | Company | 2002 Revenue (millions) |
| Source: iSuppli |
||
| 1. | Intel | 2,058 |
| 2. | Samsung | 1,213 |
| 3. | Toshiba | 842 |
| 4. | AMD | 727 |
| 5. | Fujitsu | 657 |
| 6. | STMicroelectronics | 609 |
| 7. | Sharp | 420 |
| 8. | Mitsubishi Electronics | 368 |
| 9. | Hitachi | 304 |
| 10. | Silicon Storage | 304 |
Expect NAND flash prices to rise
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