Let's briefly examine a positive development concerning domestic memory chips.
On June 27th, reports indicate that, while striving to manage chip costs, Apple is pressuring the White House for approval to procure memory chips from a Chinese company. Apple has been lobbying officials at the U.S. Department of Commerce and other departments within the Trump administration, seeking authorization to purchase chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies.
This week, in an extreme move to offset cost increases stemming from an unprecedented memory chip shortage, Apple implemented price hikes across all its Mac computers, iPads, smart home devices, and the Vision Pro augmented reality headset.
Last month, Apple warned that the memory chip shortage would worsen as the year progresses. The tight supply of memory chips has rippled across the entire technology sector, forcing companies to raise product prices and reduce output.
Apple's price increases have also intensified the sell-off in global technology stocks this week. Market concerns are growing that persistently rising component costs will dampen consumer demand for electronic devices and ultimately slow the upward trend in the memory chip sector. Previously, memory chips were one of the key drivers behind the artificial intelligence trading rally.
Regarding Apple's rationale for the price hikes, the Chief Commercial Officer of Micron Technology recently suggested that the aggressive price negotiation tactics Apple consistently employs with suppliers is one factor contributing to the global memory chip shortage. While he did not name Apple directly, the implication was quite clear.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Micron CBO Sumit Sadana stated that during the last downturn in the memory industry, Micron lacked sufficient funds to expand production capacity. The company's profit margins turned negative at one point, partly due to pressure from certain customers demanding continuous price reductions from suppliers.
Sadana said, "We told several very aggressive customers at the time that this approach was not healthy for the industry. Due to extremely poor chip prices and profit margins, numerous investment projects in the memory sector were forced to halt in 2023."
Micron is one of Apple's memory chip suppliers, providing some of the DRAM and NAND flash memory chips for iPhones, Macs, and iPads. Apple is renowned for its strong supply chain management, often securing more favorable purchasing terms from suppliers like Micron through long-term procurement contracts.
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