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Multi-Chip Packages Raise Accounting Issues for Flash Memory Market Revenue, Web-Feet Research.


MONTEREY, Calif. -- Following the close of the fiscal year for Japanese suppliers on March 31, Web-Feet Research (WFR WFR - Wafer
WFR - Waiting For Reply
WFR - Wilderness First Responder
WFR - With Fried Rice (Chinese restaurants)
WFR - Wizard's First Rule (Terry Goodkind book)
WFR - Worcestershire and Foresters Regiment
WFR - Work Force Reduction
) revised its 2004 Non-Volatile Memory A memory that does not hold its contents without power. A computer's main memory, which is made up of dynamic RAM or static RAM chips, loses its content immediately upon loss of power. Newer types of memory are expected to obsolete volatile memory in the future (see MRAM). Contrast with non-volatile memory. Market Shares report to reflect the final Flash memory market revenue. WFR found the 2004 Flash memory (1) See also Flash.

(2) A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power. Flash evolved from the EEPROM chip, and its name was coined by Toshiba to express how much faster it could be erased ("in a flash"). See EEPROM.

Flash is widely used for storage modules such as USB drives and digital camera memory cards (see examples below). It is also packaged as stand-alone chips for circuit board mounting.
 market to be $17.3 billion, nearly 11% higher than the $15.6 billion reported by WSTS WSTS - Warfare Systems Test Specification
WSTS - We See That Sometimes
WSTS - Weapon System Trade Study
WSTS - Weapons System Training Set
WSTS - Weeping Silently to Self (chat)
WSTS - White Sands Tracking Station
WSTS - Women Science Technology and Society
WSTS - World Sea Trade Service
WSTS - World Semiconductor Trade Statistics
and other market research firms. That variance appears to stem from differences in recognizing the revenue from Flash memory-based Multi-Chip Packages (MCP MCP - Microsoft Certified Professional
MCP - Military Continuous Power
MCP - Macapa, Amapa, Brazil (Airport Code)
MCP - Main Command Post
MCP - Main Controller Power (AT&T)
MCP - Main Coolant/Cooling Pump
MCP - Maine Central Power
MCP - Maintenance Collection Point
MCP - Maintenance Computer Program
MCP - Maintenance Control Program
MCP - Malawi Congress Party (Malawi political party)
MCP - Male Chauvinist Pig
).

WFR estimates that Flash memory vendors shipped approximately $5.5 billion of Flash-based MCP components in 2004, which is included in the $17.3 billion Flash market. Flash-based MCP products generally include multiple Flash die and xRAM (SRAM/PSRAM PSRAM - Pseudo-Static Random Access Memory/DRAM) die, bonded together in a single package. Although separating the value of the Flash memory from that of the xRAM is desirable, in practice it is difficult because the vendors do not report shipments to WSTS uniformly.

To ensure consistent tabulation of the Flash market, WFR accounts for the entire value of the Flash-based MCP.

WFR collects the Flash memory shipment data through the Flash Memory Reporting Association (FMRA FMRA - Financial Management Review & Analysis). Founded in 2000, the 17 FMRA member companies accounted for nearly 99% of the worldwide Flash memory shipments in 2004.

Companies reporting to WSTS are asked to divide MCP revenue into its Flash, SRAM, and DRAM components. In practice, this rule is not applied consistently by the suppliers, which distorts quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year comparisons. Nevertheless, most market research firms correlate their market numbers with the WSTS results.

The difference in the Flash market size reported by WFR and WSTS is due to accounting methodology. WFR believes its method provides a better estimate of the Flash memory market and forecasts the 2005 Flash memory market will grow 11%, reaching $19.2 billion. Most of this growth is driven by the high demand for NAND components and MCP configurations.

Data in the accompanying table are excerpts from the 2004 Non-Volatile Memory Market Shares by Vendor report from Web-Feet Research that also includes segmentations for NOR and NAND, Serial NOR, EEPROM, and others.
2004 Flash memory market vendor ranking

                   (Million $)
    1.  Samsung       4,897
    2.  Spansion      2,411
    3.  Intel         2,349
    4.  Toshiba       2,067
    5.  STMicro       1,196
    6.  Renesas         865
    7.  Sharp           801
    8.  Macronix        393
    9.  SST             347
    10. Hynix           315
    11. Others        1,669
        Total        17,310


About Web-Feet Research

Headquartered in Monterey, California, Web-Feet Research provides business consulting and market research services in the memory and storage markets, with emphasis on Flash memory components, Flash cards and small form factor HDD for mobile applications.
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Copyright 2005, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Business Wire
Date:Apr 13, 2005
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