By Jonathan Cassell, Lead Analyst at Supplyframe Commodity IQ
Amid weak PC demand growth, most electronic part types commonly used in PCs are expected to experience flat or mildly declining pricing in October. However, memory types used in PCs represent a notable exception, with strong price increases expected.
Global PC demand in Q4 is projected to be modestly higher compared to Q3, with sales driven by the holiday buying season, broader AI-PC availability, and the end-of-life for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system.
Pricing for some key components used in PCs softened in September and is expected to fall further in October, according to the Commodity IQ Price Index.
Socket prices are set to decrease by 5.2% in October compared to September, while thermal support devices are expected to decline by 5.9%.
Microprocessor (MPU) pricing is set to fall in October with the index for MPUs and MCUs set to drop by 5.3% sequentially in October, although most MPU purchases made in October are likely to be used in PCs that will not ship until Q1.
Connectors and power circuits are set to undergo flat pricing trends in October, with projected sequential declines of 3.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Drivers and interfaces will also experience flat pricing, with the index rising by a scant 0.2% in October.
While the overall memory pricing index is set to fall by 10.6% sequentially in October, the types of memory commonly used in PCs — namely DDR4 DRAM and NAND flash — are expected to remain in tight supply in October and throughout Q4.
NAND flash is employed for storage in AI servers, driving up pricing. Meanwhile, suppliers are planning to end production of DDR4 as they shift manufacturing capacity to AI-related memory types like high-bandwidth memory, DDR5 DRAM, and NAND flash. This is expected to drive up
Buyers should lock in low costs by signing fixed-price contracts with suppliers for PC components now in advance of potential price increases in December.