Tuesday, May 9th 2023

Report: DRAM and NAND Flash Prices Expected to Fall Further in 2Q23 Due to Weak Server Shipments and High Inventory Levels

TrendForce's latest research indicates that, as production cuts to DRAM and NAND Flash have not kept pace with weakening demand, the ASP of some products is expected to decline further in 2Q23. DRAM prices are projected to fall 13~18%; NAND Flash is expected to fall between 8~13%.

TrendForce reports that the significant drop in DRAM prices was mostly attributed to high inventory levels of DDR4 and LPDDR5 as PC DRAM, server DRAM, and mobile DRAM collectively account for over 85% of DRAM consumption. Meanwhile, the market share for DDR5 remains relatively low.
PC DRAM: Despite suppliers urgently reducing inventory, transaction volume has failed to increase due to the ample supply of DDR4. In contrast, prices for DDR5 are experiencing a far more moderate decline compared to DDR4 thanks to a tighter supply. Overall, the ASP of PC DRAM is expected to decrease by 15~20% in 2Q23.

Server DRAM: Weaker server demand has led to increased DDR4 inventory pressure on suppliers, with quarterly price declines expanding to 18~23%. The supply of DDR5 has been constrained owing to PMIC compatibility issues, narrowing the price decline for server DRAM in 2Q23 to 13~18%. However, given that DDR5's market share remains low, its impact on price changes is limited, meaning the overall price decline in 2Q23 for server DRAM will remain between 15~20%.

Mobile DRAM: Smartphone brands have finally finished correcting their memory inventories meaning a higher purchasing momentum compared to last year. However, inventory pressure on suppliers continues to remain high, which means they are more willing to offer discounts. Buyers have been merging Q3 demand with Q2 to increase their bargaining power, causing the ASP decline of mobile DRAM to expand to 13~18% in 2Q23.

NAND Flash is primarily affected by enterprise SSD and UFS price drops, and the oversupply situation in the market has yet to be resolved. These two products account for over 50% of total NAND Flash consumption.

Enterprise SSD: Server demand continues to be revised downward, exacerbating inventory pressure on manufacturers. Order volume in China has not significantly increased following the lifting of lockdown restrictions. Orders for server ODMs have also struggled to grow due to high inventory levels, leading to the ASP decline of enterprise SSDs in 2Q23 to expand to 10~15%. Demand for enterprise SSDs is expected to grow significantly in 2H23 as new platforms are released and inventory levels continue to fall.

UFS: Smartphone brands have finally finished correcting their memory inventories meaning a higher purchasing momentum compared to last year. However, inventory pressure on suppliers continues to remain high, which means they are more willing to offer discounts. Buyers have been merging Q3 demand with Q2 to increase their bargaining power, causing the ASP decline of UFS to expand to 10~15% in 2Q23.
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9 Comments on Report: DRAM and NAND Flash Prices Expected to Fall Further in 2Q23 Due to Weak Server Shipments and High Inventory Levels

#1
TumbleGeorge
I hope that further reductions in NAND prices will finally lead to the introduction and supply of higher capacity SSDs. I feel the 16TB M.2 is pretty close in time.
Posted on Reply
#2
mechtech
Ya. Even the 4TB are overpriced let alone anything larger……

thinking about getting a 64GB ddr4 kit and putting a 32gig on the shelf for a spare.
Posted on Reply
#3
TumbleGeorge
mechtechYa. Even the 4TB are overpriced
I see offers for 7 models in n*wegg between $170-200 USD. 3 of them are M.2.
Posted on Reply
#4
mechtech
In Can. But yes. Definitely getting better but when you compare say a Kingston KC3000 2TB to 4TB, well you can get two 2TB drives for less than a single 4TB drive.
Posted on Reply
#5
TumbleGeorge
mechtechcompare say a Kingston KC3000 2TB to 4TB, well you can get two 2TB drives for less than a single 4TB drive.
I bet this pricing "typo" will be fixed in less than 2 months.. :)
Posted on Reply
#6
bonehead123
TumbleGeorgeI hope that further reductions in NAND prices will finally lead to the introduction and supply of higher capacity SSDs. I feel the 16TB M.2 is pretty close in time.
This simply won't happen/be allowed to happen until the current supply of all of the smaller, higher-priced chips & drives are nearly exhausted, otherwise the mfgr's won't be able to keep milkin us for every penny they can get for the drives that have already been produced...

Capitalism.. aint it GREAT, hehehe.....
Posted on Reply
#7
Bomby569
it seems like dram/nand/ram are the only things going down in price despite sales crashing in the tech space
Posted on Reply
#8
mechtech
Bomby569it seems like dram/nand/ram are the only things going down in price despite sales crashing in the tech space
Indeed. Motherboards have gone up since November and PSUs have doubled in the past year
Posted on Reply
#9
Easo
TumbleGeorgeI bet this pricing "typo" will be fixed in less than 2 months.. :)
Unlikely. It has been months since I bought my two and they still have the same pricing logic everywhere.
Sure, 4TB in a single drive is advantage, but no one is ever going to reasonably tell me twice the components somehow still cost less. Pretty sure the controller was the same as well.
Posted on Reply
May 3rd, 2024 11:32 EDT change timezone

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