• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Q3 Contract Prices of NAND Flash Products Constrained by Increased Production and Lower End-User Demand; Estimated to Rise by 5-10%

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,596 (2.41/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
TrendForce reports that while the enterprise sector continues to invest in server infrastructure—especially with the rising adoption of AI driving demand for enterprise SSDs—the consumer electronics market remains lackluster. This, combined with NAND suppliers aggressively ramping up production in the second half of the year, is expected to push the NAND Flash sufficiency ratio up to 2.3% in the third quarter, curbing the blended price hike to a modest 5-10%.

This year, NAND Flash prices saw a robust rebound as manufacturers kept production in check during the first half, helping them regain profitability. However, with a noticeable ramp-up in production and sluggish retail demand, wafer spot prices have dropped significantly. Some wafer prices are now over 20% below contract prices, casting doubts on the sustainability of future price hikes.




For client SSDs, even though notebook sales are entering the traditional peak season, customer stocking behavior remains conservative. The prices of PC end products have yet to fully absorb the price hikes from last year, and procurement volumes haven't shown significant growth in the second half. As suppliers upgrade PC client SSD processes to 2XX layers, production capacity is climbing, but weak demand continues to suppress price increases. Additionally, the considerable price gap between QLC and TLC products has led more PC buyers to opt for QLC solutions, heightening price competition. Consequently, the price increase for PC client SSDs in Q3 is expected to be a restrained 3-8%.

On the enterprise front, the expansion of AI server deployments is driving significant investments in IT infrastructure, with server OEM orders rising sharply in Q3. Despite conservative orders from smartphones and notebooks, the NAND Flash market is becoming more balanced. High-capacity QLC Enterprise SSDs are mainly supplied by two dominant module makers, while others are fiercely competing for enterprise SSD orders to optimize their capacity utilization in the latter half of the year. As a result, the price increase for enterprise SSDs in Q3 is expected to be a substantial 15-20%.

For eMMC, the third quarter lacks significant demand drivers, but module makers are determined to push for higher prices. This determination is expected to result in minimal price increases, with contract prices remaining roughly flat.

In the UFS segment, ample inventory levels and slow depletion by smartphone OEMs, along with increased supply options from module makers, are creating more choice for buyers. As module makers aim for significant price hikes in Q3, resistance is expected. Given ample buyer inventories and weak market demand, suppliers might need to compromise, with Q3 UFS contract prices expected to rise by only 3-8%.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
 
Joined
May 11, 2018
Messages
1,252 (0.52/day)
Oh no, how will the industry survive without sustainability of future price hikes?

Meanwhile they're re-releasing basically the same SSDs with lower and lower durability, more heat output, and the only thing they have to show for it is performance in metrics that don't matter to everyday user!
 
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
1,605 (1.41/day)
It's ironic that NAND prices will stay stable while SSD prices are expected to increase, despite lower demand. Greed is certainly doing its job. :')
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
Messages
491 (0.26/day)
It's ironic that NAND prices will stay stable while SSD prices are expected to increase, despite lower demand. Greed is certainly doing its job. :')
What I'm worried about is somehow they'll slap the AI sticker somewhere and justify their price increases!

Just remember... The MoAr you buy... The MoAr... you save!:D
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
3,484 (2.46/day)
Location
Slovenia
Processor i5-6600K
Motherboard Asus Z170A
Cooling some cheap Cooler Master Hyper 103 or similar
Memory 16GB DDR4-2400
Video Card(s) IGP
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
Display(s) 2x Oldell 24" 1920x1200
Case Bitfenix Nova white windowless non-mesh
Audio Device(s) E-mu 1212m PCI
Power Supply Seasonic G-360
Mouse Logitech Marble trackball, never had a mouse
Keyboard Key Tronic KT2000, no Win key because 1994
Software Oldwin
@TheLostSwede To be sure, these price hikes are per unit/per wafer, not per terabyte?
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,596 (2.41/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
@TheLostSwede To be sure, these price hikes are per unit/per wafer, not per terabyte?
The way I read it it, it's for the NAND as well as for the entire drive, depending on which line you look at.
Keep in mind that this is a forecast and an estimate by TrendForce and not a guarantee.
Last time I bought some extra storage, just in case, as prices were supposed to go up, they didn't.
Admittedly, they have been going up a fair bit since last summer, but we're still far from prices two years ago.
But no, it's not per TB.
 
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
3,826 (0.59/day)
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
Processor Ryzen 5700x
Motherboard Gigabyte X570S Aero G R1.1 BiosF5g
Cooling Noctua NH-C12P SE14 w/ NF-A15 HS-PWM Fan 1500rpm
Memory Micron DDR4-3200 2x32GB D.S. D.R. (CT2K32G4DFD832A)
Video Card(s) AMD RX 6800 - Asus Tuf
Storage Kingston KC3000 1TB & 2TB & 4TB Corsair MP600 Pro LPX
Display(s) LG 27UL550-W (27" 4k)
Case Be Quiet Pure Base 600 (no window)
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1220-VB
Power Supply SuperFlower Leadex V Gold Pro 850W ATX Ver2.52
Mouse Mionix Naos Pro
Keyboard Corsair Strafe with browns
Software W10 22H2 Pro x64
Glad I grabbed a 4TB nvme (MP600 pro lpx) drive before black November for $330 cad. Not going to but another until it's equal or less.
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
739 (0.11/day)
Location
Austin, TX
System Name WAZAAM!
Processor AMD Ryzen 3900x
Motherboard ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Pro Gaming
Cooling Kraken x62
Memory G.Skill 16GB 3200 MHz
Video Card(s) EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC
Storage Micron 9200 Max
Display(s) Samsung 49" 5120x1440 120hz
Case Corsair 600D
Audio Device(s) Onboard - Bose Companion 2 Speakers
Power Supply CORSAIR Professional Series HX850
Keyboard Corsair K95 RGB
Software Windows 10 Pro
Oh no, how will the industry survive without sustainability of future price hikes?

Meanwhile they're re-releasing basically the same SSDs with lower and lower durability, more heat output, and the only thing they have to show for it is performance in metrics that don't matter to everyday user!

Honestly, we do want the companies to make *some* money. For example, Micron lost 4.8 BILLION dollars last year. The whole industry was in the same boat and will probably result in Western Digital and Kioxia merging (Intel/Solidigm & SK Hynix already merged).

That leaves us with:
Samsung
Western Digital / Kioxia
Solidigm / SK Hynix
Micron

I guarantee prices will not go down if we go from 4 to 3 NAND companies.
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2022
Messages
867 (0.83/day)
Honestly, we do want the companies to make *some* money. For example, Micron lost 4.8 BILLION dollars last year. The whole industry was in the same boat and will probably result in Western Digital and Kioxia merging (Intel/Solidigm & SK Hynix already merged).

That leaves us with:
Samsung
Western Digital / Kioxia
Solidigm / SK Hynix
Micron

I guarantee prices will not go down if we go from 4 to 3 NAND companies.
How was that loss made
 
Joined
Dec 10, 2011
Messages
432 (0.09/day)
The same excuse was used about 5 months ago. As a result of this all of enterprise grade storage went up by ~250$ overnight/every 3.84TB of capacity. So on my end (with VAT et al) every 15.36TB 7450 Micron Pro which was about 2000$ 4 months ago, is now ~2750$ - and SED variety is hitting 3k$. Consumer drives were spared this, but not any longer. :mad:

Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #10: GREED is Eternal.

It's hard to expect to price to go down, when whole market is moving toward one giant monopoly with all mergers and buyouts.
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,596 (2.41/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
These must be mystical fortune tellers? Have they ever predicted the exact percentages of change?
I don't think so, but as we don't know contact prices, maybe they're spot on when it comes to those?
It's always hard to predict the future.
 
Top