July exports of ICT products, including semiconductors and computers, recorded record-breaking performance.

According to the July 2021 export and import trends released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, semiconductors increased 39.6% year-on-year to $10.997 billion, while displays rose 38% to $1.819 billion. Computers rose 26.4% year-on-year to $1.49 billion, and wireless communication devices rose 5% to $1.167 billion.

Semiconductors recorded the highest July export volume ever, surpassing July 2018 ($10.4 billion), known as the semiconductor super cycle, as demand for server memory led to a brisk export trend due to new CPU releases and server expansion by data center companies. Exports have exceeded $10 billion for the past three consecutive months.

With the launch of new CPUs, orders for high-capacity DRAM are increasing as major data center companies expand their server capacity. Mobile demand remains strong ahead of the launch of new smartphones, leading to rising fixed memory prices and semiconductor exports increasing for the 13th consecutive month.

Computer exports achieved their highest-ever July performance, driven by the revitalization of the non-face-to-face economy, including work-from-home initiatives. Other IT products have also enjoyed sustained growth over a long period, supporting the steady upward trend in our exports since last year.

As demand for consumer SSDs continues due to the work-from-home and digital transformation trends, demand for enterprise-use data centers, which had been depleted of inventory in the first half of the year, has also expanded. Furthermore, computer exports have increased for five consecutive months as unit prices have risen due to technological advancements such as NAND flash stacking.

The display industry has successfully transitioned from LCD to high-value-added OLED. Despite a decline in shipments due to reduced LCD production by domestic companies, display exports have increased for four consecutive months, driven by rising unit prices due to a global LCD supply shortage and increased OLED exports driven by increased sales of premium smartphones adopting OLED.

Semiconductors and OLEDs are expected to drive exports in the second half of the year, contributing positively to the continued upward trend in our exports.

Semiconductor prices are expected to rise significantly in the third and fourth quarters, showing a positive outlook.

As OLED's product proportion increases, the average unit price is also expected to rise.