Samsung Electronics recently notified customers of its intention to raise quotes for 512Gb NAND flash wafers to US$1.60, a change that could be reflected in spot market prices as early as mid-August, according to sources at memory module houses.
Notable is that, despite the industry's recovery from its low point, downstream customers continue to be cautious about inventory replenishment, the sources indicated. If spot prices fail to increase and sustain their rally in the third quarter, the next phase of price recovery may not occur until the second quarter of 2024.
Along with SK Hynix and Micron Technology, Samsung has moved to intensify artificial production cuts to accelerate the rate of inventory depletion, the sources said. NAND flash memory is currently the primary focus of these memory chipmakers' production cutbacks.
Samsung's proposed US$1.60 per unit price for its 512Gb wafers represents a cumulative increase of approximately 15% from the low price of approximately US$1.40 at the start of 2023, and it is clear that Samsung has actively pushed NAND flash costs back to recovery by further reducing output. However, given the slow depletion of upstream and downstream NAND flash inventory, Samsung will have difficulty compelling buyers to accept the price increase, according to the sources.
Micron had previously requested an offer of US$1.60 per unit, but it lacked purchasing momentum, with only niche customers placing orders for approximately 300,000 units, the sources noted.
As for DRAM memory, spot prices fell more in July than in June, according to the sources. The price of 4Gb DDR3 memory fell by approximately 5% in July, the largest of any DRAM category, while the price of mainstream 8Gb DDR4 memory dropped by around 3%.
Article translated by Jessie Shen
