NAND Prices to Rise Further in Q3 This Year: "Up to 10% Increase"

Taiwanese Market Research Firm 'TrendForce' Forecasts

With the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving the growth of enterprise solid-state drives (eSSD), it is projected that NAND flash prices could rise by up to 10% in the third quarter of this year.

Samsung Electronics' 'QLC 9th Generation V-NAND' product. Photo by Samsung Electronics Yonhap News

According to TrendForce, a Taiwanese market research firm, NAND prices are expected to increase by 5 to 10% in the third quarter of this year. This upward trend is expected to continue following the second quarter, when prices rose by 3 to 8%. Several factors are seen as driving this price increase: the expansion of AI investments by big tech companies, rising demand for eSSD, and a reduction in inventory levels across the supply chain. TrendForce stated, "Continued AI investment by major North American cloud service providers (CSPs) is expected to significantly boost eSSD demand in the third quarter." The firm added, "With finished product inventory levels in the enterprise SSD market remaining low, a supply shortage is likely to occur. This supports the possibility of up to a 10% price increase compared to the previous quarter."

However, TrendForce noted that the momentum in the second quarter was disrupted and variables were introduced into the pricing trend due to the reciprocal tariff policies originating from the United States in early April. "While some PC manufacturers increased shipments in the second quarter, this did not result in a significant overall increase in NAND product demand," the firm said. "Ongoing weakness in the retail market has led suppliers to further tighten production controls," it added.

Nevertheless, TrendForce explained that demand for storage devices has recently been showing signs of gradual recovery. The firm observed, "The surge in storage demand is partly due to shipments of high-end AI servers, such as Nvidia's latest AI chip, the GB200, and partly due to increased hard disk drive (HDD) orders since the beginning of this year." TrendForce predicted, "Both SSD and HDD are expected to benefit from the steady server build-out by CSPs, with increased enterprise capital expenditures driving a new wave of order growth."

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