South Korea's June Semiconductor Exports Expected to Hit Record High, Securities Firm Raises Profit Forecast for Memory Companies

BlockBeats News, June 22, Critini Research analyst Jukan quoted South Korean IT tech media The Electronic Times on social media, stating that South Korea's semiconductor storage exports in June are expected to reach a historic high.

The report mentioned that June's semiconductor storage exports continued their strong momentum, with AI demand and supply shortages driving both export value and unit price surge simultaneously. The overflow effect of HBM shortages has spread to general DRAM, NAND, and SSD, with exports expected to exceed the historical record of $37.16 billion set in May.

According to data from the South Korean Customs Office on June 22, the export value of major storage products from June 1 to 20 has exceeded $23 billion, accounting for over 60% of May's total monthly exports. Considering the recent growth trends in various product categories, total exports in June are expected to range from $38 billion to $42 billion, hitting another record high. End-of-month shipments usually further boost export volumes.

In June, all storage product categories showed a significant increase in export value and unit price, reflecting the structural expansion of the AI storage supercycle. Among them, the export value of HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) surged by 51% compared to the previous period, with major players like NVIDIA continuing to invest in AI data centers and SK Hynix leading the tight supply of HBM3E and HBM4.

The wafer capacity concentrated on HBM has led to a reduction in general DRAM supply, with unit prices rising to 2 to 3 times the same period last year. Coupled with the recovery in PC and mobile phone demand, export value has seen a significant increase. The expansion of AI inference server deployment has driven a surge in demand for NAND and SSD, with both categories increasing by 25% to 28% compared to the previous period.

Storage semiconductors' share of total semiconductor exports has risen from 70% to 90%. The total export of storage and system semiconductors this month reached $25.5 billion, with the overall semiconductor exports in June expected to range from $42 billion to $46 billion.

With strong performance, securities firms have raised their profit forecasts for storage companies. A research analyst at Hana Financial Investment Corp. analyzed that the South Korean storage industry is overcoming its weaknesses through long-term supply agreements and the two major advantages of HBM, so even if the industry downturns in the future, operating profits will not plummet as severely as in the past.