Price Fixing; Price; Profit

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into possible charges that computer chip makers, including Samsung Electronics, Hynix Semiconductor, Micron Technology, and Infineon Technologies, have conspired to raise prices of memory chips.

While these are the only firms who have disclosed that they are under investigation, they dominate the market for dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips. Because DRAM chips are not viewed to be as complex as the microprocessors made by firms like Intel, these chips have been subject to significant price changes over the last few years. Long-term prices have fallen, squeezing the profit margins of these firms, creating an incentive to conspire to fix prices.

The FTC is looking at emails between firms indicating the presence of collusion by the firms: "The consensus from all suppliers is that if Micron makes the move, all of them will do the same and make it stick," according to one email released by the FTC. Micron is expected to testify on behalf of the Justice Department in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

The investigation started after a sharp spike in chip prices--from about $1 per chip to about $4 per chip--occurred following a two-year decline in prices. Computer companies complained about the cartel-like behavior, and the Justice Department began investigating claims that the firms conspired to maintain a price of $3 per chip.

(Updated April, 2004)