South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix said Thursday that some customers have accelerated orders in anticipation of potential U.S. tariffs on semiconductors, contributing to improved market conditions. However, the company cautioned that it remains unclear whether this trend will persist.
South Korea’s SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, reported on Thursday that some customers have accelerated orders in anticipation of potential U.S. tariffs on semiconductors.
Speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Lee Sang-rak, SK Hynix’s Head of Global Sales and Marketing, noted that the early orders, combined with reduced inventory levels among clients, have contributed to favorable market conditions. However, he cautioned that it remains uncertain whether this trend will continue.
In January, SK Hynix projected a 10-20% decline in shipments of DRAM and NAND flash memory chips for the first quarter compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, U.S. chipmakers Micron and SanDisk, along with China’s YMTC, have reportedly raised memory chip prices, partly due to strong demand from the AI sector. These companies have not yet commented on the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced in February that he intends to impose tariffs of approximately 25% on semiconductor imports, among other products. Analysts at Nomura noted this week that concerns over these potential tariffs have led to preemptive transfers of semiconductor inventory to the United States. However, they also cautioned that if the tariffs are implemented, they could lead to higher consumer prices and potentially dampen demand.
SK Hynix remains optimistic about its business outlook, particularly in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. CEO Kwak Noh-Jung told shareholders that demand for HBM chips, which are critical for AI applications, is expected to see “explosive growth” this year, supported by continued investments in data centers.
The company has already sold out its HBM sales for 2025 and plans to finalize 2026 sales agreements within the first half of this year to enhance revenue stability, Kwak said.
While some industry observers raised concerns about a slowdown in AI hardware spending—particularly after Chinese startup DeepSeek claimed to have developed cost-efficient AI models—Nvidia, a key player in the sector, recently reaffirmed strong demand for AI chips. Kwak suggested that companies like DeepSeek could ultimately contribute to medium-to-long-term demand for AI memory chips rather than reducing it.
The Israeli military carried out heavy airstrikes on south Lebanon on Thursday after issuing evacuation orders for three locations, saying Lebanese ar...
Authorities in South Korea fear five people remain trapped on Thursday after the collapse of a large structure at a power station in the city of Ulsan...
Typhoon Kalmaegi slammed into Vietnam, forcing authorities to cancel hundreds of flights and order people to stay indoors, two days after the storm st...
Uzbekistan and Türkiye are negotiating new measures to ease legal labour migration, including an electronic work visa system for Uzbek nationals and ...
Poland will roll out a new military training programme this month as part of a broader plan to train around 400,000 people in 2026, the Defence Minist...
Dutch smartphone maker Fairphone is entering the U.S. market, betting on growing demand for repairable and sustainable devices as right-to-repair legislation gains traction, according to Reuters.
U.S. chipmaker Nvidia has made history by becoming the first company in the world to reach a market value of 5 trillion dollars, driven by soaring demand for artificial intelligence technologies.
Twenty-two years ago, the Concorde made its final descent into London, marking the end of an era when air travel reached twice the speed of sound and luxury met groundbreaking engineering.
Amazon's AMZN.O cloud services unit AWS was struggling to recover on Monday from a widespread outage that knocked out thousands of websites along with some of the world's most popular apps - Snapchat and Reddit - and disrupted businesses globally.
The Champions League match between Qarabağ FK and Chelsea ended 2–2 at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday (5 November).
Brussels airport, Belgium's busiest, reopened on Wednesday morning after drone sightings during the previous night had resulted in it being temporarily closed, although some flights remained disrupted, its website said.
A French court has postponed the trial of a suspect linked to the Louvre jewellery heist in a separate case, citing heavy media scrutiny and concerns about the fairness of the proceedings.
Russia remains in constant contact with Venezuela over tensions in the Caribbean, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
U.S. federal investigators have recovered the flight recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed and erupted in flames during takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least 12 people and halting airport operations.
As competition over artificial intelligence intensifies, U.S. tech leaders are warning that China’s rapid state-backed progress could soon outpace the West, raising concerns that America is losing its technological edge.
India has launched its heaviest-ever communications satellite, GSAT-7R, designed to boost the Indian Navy’s maritime operations and secure space-based communications.
Nvidia has announced a major partnership with the South Korean government and top companies to strengthen the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities by supplying hundreds of thousands of its advanced GPUs.
Character.AI will ban under-18s from chatting with its AI characters and introduce time limits, following lawsuits alleging the platform contributed to a teenager’s death.
A small, silent object from another star is cutting through the Solar System. It’s real, not a film, and one scientist thinks it might be sending a message.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment