Samsung Electronics Falls Behind, SK Hynix Advances in Q2 NAND Market... US Progress Draws Attention

Global NAND Flash Market Q2 Sales Reach $18.12 Billion, Up 1.1%
Samsung Electronics' Market Share Drops 2.3%P, SK Hynix Rises to 2nd Place
Western Digital and Micron Show Growth in Both Market Share and Sales
TrendForce Forecasts 10% Decline in NAND Market Sales for Q3

NAND Flash Market Share and Revenue by Vendor in Q2 / Source=TrendForce

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] In the second quarter, Samsung Electronics ranked first in the global NAND flash market with the highest market share, although its share slightly declined compared to the previous quarter. SK Hynix overtook Japan's Kioxia, the previous second-place player, which faltered due to production disruptions, rising to second place. The U.S. companies Western Digital and Micron, ranked fourth and fifth respectively, showed increases in both market share and sales. Notably, Micron's sales growth rate reached 16.9%. The NAND market sales are expected to decline by 10% in the third quarter.

According to Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce on the 1st, the global NAND flash market sales in the second quarter amounted to $18.12 billion (24.4638 trillion KRW), a 1.1% increase from the previous quarter. Compared to sales in the same period last year ($14.8178 billion, 20.005 trillion KRW), this represents a 22.29% increase, but the growth rate has somewhat slowed compared to the 5.1% growth seen in Q4 2020.

Reduced consumer demand for products such as laptops, TVs, and smartphones led to decreased NAND shipments and increased inventory. However, a raw material contamination incident at Japan's Kioxia earlier this year caused some supply disruptions, and the average selling price (ASP) rose 2.3% from the previous quarter due to factors including exchange rate increases. Unlike consumer products, demand for server solid-state drives (SSDs) remained robust.

Lower-tier Advances Boost U.S. NAND Combined Market Share... TrendForce Forecasts "10% Decline in NAND Market Sales in Q3"

Looking at the second quarter NAND market share by company, SK Hynix (including Intel's NAND business unit Solidigm), which was the third-ranked player in Q1, rose one step to second place in Q2. Its market share increased by 1.9 percentage points from the previous quarter to 19.0%, thanks to strengthened partnerships with North American customers and increased shipments of server SSDs. Kioxia, previously the second-ranked player, dropped to third due to decreased shipments caused by contamination incidents and closure of post-processing facilities.

Samsung Electronics again held the top spot in market share, but its growth slowed. Samsung recorded a 33.0% share in the NAND market in Q2, down 2.3 percentage points from 35.3% in Q1. Its Q2 sales also fell 5.4% from the previous quarter to $5.98 billion (8.0736 trillion KRW). Although server SSD shipments increased, the overall decline in NAND market demand had an impact.

The combined market share of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in Q2 was 52.9%. While domestic companies accounted for half of the global NAND market and showed strong performance, this was a 0.4 percentage point decrease from 53.3% in Q1. Meanwhile, U.S. companies showed growth. The combined market share of Western Digital (WDC) and Micron rose 2.4 percentage points from 23.4% in Q1 to 25.8%. Although the gap with Korea remains large, they made advances amid the slowing growth of the NAND market.

WDC and Micron ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the Q2 NAND market share. WDC's market share in Q2 was 13.2%, up 0.7 percentage points from 12.5% in Q1. Micron recorded a 12.6% share in Q2, increasing 1.7 percentage points from 10.9% in Q1. Both WDC and Micron's Q2 sales rose 7.0% and 16.9% respectively compared to the previous quarter, showing growth.

WDC increased shipments by 70% year-on-year, driven by higher enterprise SSD sales and achievements in gaming SSDs with customers like Sony. Micron responded timely to server demand and also saw increased PC OEM demand, achieving a record quarterly NAND sales of $2.29 billion (3.0917 trillion KRW) in Q2. Shipments grew 17-19% from the previous quarter.

TrendForce expects the NAND market in Q3 to face a challenging environment due to rising inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war. Oversupply has increased inventories, leading to cases of dumping as companies try to reduce stock. NAND prices are forecasted to fall 13-18% from Q2, with total market sales expected to decline by 10%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.