NAND Flash and NOR Flash market dynamics in 2024: price fluctuations and production capacity adjustments

2024-04-15

In 2024, the NAND Flash and NOR Flash markets have experienced significant changes and adjustments. According to research by Giantec, chip prices in the NAND Flash market have been rising for several consecutive months since the third quarter of 2023. Suppliers continue to adjust production strategies to improve prices and capacity utilization. For example, the general manager of NAND Flash supplier Giantec said that the price of NAND Flash in the second quarter of 2024 has been determined and will increase by 20%. In addition, some suppliers started to make profits in the first quarter, and most suppliers will become profitable after the second quarter. PHISON CEO Pua Khein Seng pointed out that further price increases of SSD solid state drives may significantly reduce market demand. If the price is too high, demand may fluctuate again. He suggested that NAND manufacturers stop reducing production and start meeting demand, rather than letting low supply and high demand drive prices higher. Samsung Electronics' Xi'an NAND Flash factory in China has restored its operating rate to about 70% and plans to upgrade the factory to a 236-layer NAND process and begin large-scale expansion. On the other hand, Kioxia is also considering adjusting the production reduction plan implemented since 2022 and increasing production.

Giantec also pointed out that the price trends of DRAM and NAND Flash in 2024 mainly depend on suppliers’ capacity utilization. In the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, DRAM and NAND Flash suppliers have respectively increased their capacity utilization rates. It is expected that the NAND Flash contract price in the first quarter of 2024 will increase by approximately 18-23%. However, as the market's view of overall demand in the second quarter remains conservative, the contract price growth of DRAM and NAND Flash in the second quarter is expected to converge to 3-8%. Entering the third quarter, the demand side is expected to strengthen, especially with the replenishment momentum of North American cloud service providers (CSPs), the quarterly increase in contract prices of DRAM and NAND Flash may expand to 8-13% simultaneously. In terms of DRAM, due to the increase in the penetration rate of DDR5 and HBM, the average unit price has increased, which has led to the expansion of DRAM growth. The quarterly increase in NAND Flash contract prices is expected to be 0-5%.

Taken together, the NAND Flash and NOR Flash markets will show complex and changeable trends in 2024, with price fluctuations and production capacity adjustments being the main features. Suppliers adopt different strategies in response to market demand and price changes, and the overall market direction depends on the development trend of the global economy and technology industry.

2024-04-23

New revolution in automotive electronics: EEPROM memory chips