As DRAM Rally Cools, NAND Prices Soar... SD Card Sales Halted Amid Cost Pressures

Financial News – The surge in spot prices for Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) that had continued for several months has started to ease, but now NAND flash memory prices are showing signs of a sharp jump. Demand for enterprise solid-state drives (enterprise SSD, eSSD) from Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers continues to expand, while Micron Technology’s exit from the consumer memory business is also having an impact. As a result, the DRAM price spike appears to be repeating itself in the NAND market.
According to market research firm TrendForce on the 5th, contract prices for DRAM and NAND in the second quarter of this year are forecast to rise by about 58–63% and 70–75%, respectively, compared with the previous quarter. The pace of increase for DRAM is expected to slow significantly from the 93–98% jump seen in the first quarter, while NAND flash memory prices are projected to post an even higher growth rate than DRAM.
Strength in NAND prices is also evident in the spot market. DRAMeXchange data show that, as of the end of March, the average fixed transaction price for general-purpose NAND products used in memory cards and USB drives (128Gb 16Gx8 MLC) was 17.73 dollars, up about 40% from 12.67 dollars a month earlier, marking the 15th consecutive month of gains. By contrast, the average fixed transaction price for standard PC DRAM products (Double Data Rate 4 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR4 SDRAM) 8Gb 1Gx8) was 13.00 dollars, unchanged from the previous month, indicating that the upward trend has stalled. Spot prices are those temporarily formed between distributors and consumers and, while they account for only a small portion of the overall DRAM market, they quickly reflect market sentiment.
The Information Technology (IT) industry is struggling to absorb the rapid rise in NAND prices and has begun either raising prices or suspending sales.
Sony (Japan) recently announced that it is suspending orders for virtually all of its storage products, including professional CompactFlash (CFexpress card) media and consumer Secure Digital (SD) card lines. In the United States, the price of the 4-terabyte (TB) SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 SSD sold through channels such as the Apple Store has jumped about 140%, from 499.95 dollars to 1,199.95 dollars. A 1-terabyte (TB) SanDisk SSD has also risen from around 120 dollars to 360 dollars, an increase of roughly 200%.
Concerns over a shortage of NAND supply are seen as adding to the upward pressure on prices. TrendForce reported that NAND manufacturers are limiting supplies of PC solid-state drive (SSD) products through the second quarter in a bid to maximize profits. Micron Technology has also halted production of lower-margin consumer memory products in order to ramp up output of enterprise offerings for the AI era.
Surim Lee, equity research analyst at DS Investment & Securities, noted, "Recently, in the consumer market, as suppliers have been working through their inventories, spot prices for DRAM have seen their pace of increase moderate, but what truly determines the profitability and earnings of the memory market is the contract price negotiated between suppliers and buyers." Lee added, "The upcycle in contract prices is likely to continue through the end of this year."



mkchang@fnnews.com Jang Min-kwon Reporter