Storage is getting cheaper, as analysts forecast more price drops in Q4 for SSDs. The latest report from TrendForce on the semiconductor market has said what many analysts are saying, the NAND Flash memory makers and related businesses will feel the pinch. According to the firm’s latest research, there are pressures from most quarters of the sector and that means NAND Flash memory chips will continue to slide down in value.
Forecasts are reporting a scale of memory component price slide to likely be 20 – 25%, during Q4 of 2022. This will result in price reductions of 15 – 20% for overall storage devices including the best SSDs for 2022, as well as similar reductions in prices for eMMC and UFS storage.
One of the troubles is the buyer’s destocking of the NAND commodity throughout the industry. TrendForce is also stating that NAND Flash customers are reducing their stocks, and not purchasing because of the bad performance in Q3.
There didn’t seem to be much in the way of back-to-school purchasing or a rush on smartphones which sometimes happens in late summer when the college crowds are returning to campuses. Some of the pressures on the industry can include a recessionary type of force, from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the constant cyclical nature of PC upgrading and refreshes.
There was a precursor to the bad news, as the TrendForce report on the Q2 2022 landscape also reported trouble with markets in semiconductor commodities. There are also reports that NAND Flash makers were already feeling gut-punched from the expected wafer price drops of 30-35% in Q3, and in Q4 2022 it is already looking to be another unfavorable quart for the industry in general and affecting the NAND Flash Makers particularly hard.
How will this affect the SSD market, is to be seen. The first half of 2022 saw more purchasing demand in this sector than in the second half of 2022. The PC makers are pessimistic at best about any upturn in business, so they are choosing to destock, forcing the SSD manufacturers to cut prices in response, hoping to shift stock.
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There is a real push in the 512GB SSDs right now, as these drives have become the focus of most PC manufacturers. This is a new “default” choice for most PC makers, and for the consumers who are shopping for SSDs. The word on the street is shopping for storage right now is not too bad, but if consumers hold off just a bit longer, they will see a price drop in SSDs that might be even greater than it already is today.
For more information see the TrendForce report, here
TrendForce | trendforce.com
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For the past 8 years, I have been writing about embedded technologies, added to my technical, academic, and medical editorial experience, with companies like Elsevier and Cambridge University Press. I tell people to read what I write, not try to pronounce my last name. I am always available for comments and suggestions you can reach me at product-editor@circuitcellar.com and I promise I will take the time to reach back out to you. I live in the North East with my wonderful family.
