Global NAND Flash 1Q Sales Up 5%... Samsung and SK Hynix Increase Market Share

by Woo Sooyoun

Published 27 May.2021 11:00(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] In the first quarter of this year, the global NAND flash market saw a 5% increase in sales compared to the previous quarter, with domestic companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix slightly increasing their market share. Although the average price of NAND flash declined overall in the first quarter, domestic companies offset the price drop with increased shipment volumes, resulting in higher sales and market share growth.

According to TrendForce on the 27th, the global NAND flash market sales in the first quarter of this year reached $14.82 billion, a 5% increase from the previous quarter. Bit shipment volume rose by 11% quarter-on-quarter, but the average selling price (ASP) fell by 5%. TrendForce analyzed that while demand for NAND used in laptops, PCs, and mobile devices remained solid, an oversupply of NAND for data centers persisted, pulling down the average price.

Looking at sales by company, all companies except Intel, which decided to divest its NAND business unit, saw increased sales. Samsung Electronics' NAND flash sales rose 7% quarter-on-quarter to $4.97 billion, with market share increasing slightly by about 0.6 percentage points. TrendForce noted that from the first quarter, demand for Samsung Electronics' NAND used in smartphones and laptops increased, and enterprise SSD demand was influenced by a low base effect from the previous fourth quarter.

SK Hynix's NAND division sales reached $1.8277 billion, marking the only double-digit growth rate (11.5%) among companies compared to the previous quarter. Its market share rose by 0.7 percentage points from the last quarter to 12.3%. In the first quarter, increased NAND inventory replenishment demand from Chinese smartphone brands led to a relatively large increase in sales for SK Hynix, which has a high proportion of mobile NAND.

Meanwhile, TrendForce reported that from the second quarter, the supply surplus situation has shifted to a supply shortage, making the overall NAND price increase more visible. The fixed transaction price for NAND (128Gb 16Gx8 MLC) surged 8.57% month-on-month at the end of April this year, reaching $4.56. This marks the first time in over a year since March last year that the fixed NAND price has turned upward.