[News] Kioxia Reportedly Planning Production Cuts Amid NAND Flash Market Challenges

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According to a report by Commercial Times, worsening conditions in the NAND Flash market have sparked speculation within the memory industry that Kioxia may implement production cuts in December 2024, potentially halting the decline in prices or even reversing the trend.

Industry insiders quoted in the report suggest that Kioxia’s planned production adjustments could stabilize or boost NAND Flash pricing. Additionally, the completion of data center infrastructure for AI servers, ASICs, and high-end networking products is expected to drive capital expenditures by cloud service providers (CSPs) toward enterprise SSDs. This shift, particularly for SSDs with capacities of 16TB or higher, presents a more optimistic outlook for the market.

The report also notes that inventory turnover days for major memory manufacturers have returned to a normal range of 10–12 weeks. Beyond Kioxia, companies like Samsung are also expected to adopt production cuts to maintain price stability in the NAND Flash sector.

A recent TrendForce report highlights significant challenges for the NAND Flash industry in the fourth quarter. While enterprise SSD prices are expected to hold steady, contract prices for other categories have already started to decline. Additionally, consumer brands are set to reduce inventory before the year-end, further weakening order momentum. TrendForce forecasts that overall NAND Flash industry revenue will drop by nearly 10% quarter-on-quarter in Q4.

Regarding reports of potential production cuts, TrendForce notes that memory suppliers, facing cautious growth projections for the Chinese market, may see NAND Flash prices continue to face downward pressure. Consequently, some suppliers might opt for further production reductions in the near term to address these challenges.

(Photo credit: Kioxia)