The market researchers from TrendForce expect price increases in the third quarter of 2021 for products based on NAND flash memory such as SSDs as well as for DRAM products such as RAM and graphics card memory.
< h2 class = "text-width text-h2" id = "section_enterprisessds_sehr_gefragt"> Enterprise SSDs very popular
Overall, TrendForce is assuming a price increase in the range of 5 to 10 percent for NAND Flash products. Client SSDs should therefore be 3 to 8 percent more expensive, with enterprise SSDs a significantly higher increase of around 15 percent is to be expected. One of the reasons cited is the increased demand for enterprise SSDs since the market launch of the new server platform around Intel Ice Lake, which, with their high storage capacities, ensure a further shortage of NAND flash. The demand for client SSDs is also high, since notebook manufacturers want to satisfy the sustained high demand for their part. Due to higher profit margins, however, NAND Flash manufacturers generally prefer server products.
Forecast of the price development for NAND Flash products for Q3 2021 (Image: TrendForce) However, there is little fear that SSDs will become noticeably more expensive for end customers. Because for many months there have been predictions of rising SSD prices, which have not yet been reflected in online retail. The continuing shortage of SSD controllers due to manufacturing bottlenecks has not caused prices to skyrocket. However, it can be seen in some places that SSD manufacturers are switching to smaller SSD controllers or other NAND flash and justify this with the current market situation.
Chia hype is ebbing again
While the mining of the crypto currency Chia caused regional bottlenecks in the second quarter due to increased demand for SSDs and HDDs, the effects of the TrendForce literally said that the “cryptocurrency madness” has gradually subsided.
If only slight price increases are expected for eMMC and Universal Flash Storage (UFS). Apple is already stocking up on the new iPhone generation, but smartphone manufacturers in Asia are reducing their production targets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
RAM for smartphones and graphics cards is getting more expensive
DRAM rose again significantly in the course of the second quarter. TrendForce is now confirming the forecast that prices will also go up in the third quarter. However, overall price increases in the range of 3 to 8 percent for DRAM products can only be assumed.
The greatest increases will be in the areas of mobile (5 to 15%) and graphics solutions (8 to 13%) expected. Here, too, other segments such as the server area are more important for manufacturers, so that the range of mobile DRAMs is becoming scarcer. The need for GDDR6 memory for graphics cards and game consoles continues to far exceed the supply. RAM for PCs is expected to become relatively slightly more expensive with expected price increases of 3 to 8 percent.
Forecast of the price development for DRAM products for Q3 2021 (Image: TrendForce)