DRAM Spot Market
Spot prices of chips in the lower price range have started to elevate this week as some NAND Flash suppliers are very committed to raising their spot prices. On the whole, there has been some stabilization of DRAM spot prices, and the overall volume of spot transactions has also increased a bit. Looking ahead in the short term, it remains to be seen whether suppliers’ ongoing production cuts will spur buyers to stock up. However, spot prices are expected to remain mostly flat until the end of this year. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) rose by 0.28% from US$1.450 last week to US$1.454 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market

Buyers, concerned over the cessation of low prices, are continuously proposing order inquiries, though they are hesitant towards following up on prices and hoarding inventory during actual transactions. Continuity of transaction dynamics is not apparent in the spot market, where several packaged dies are seeing repeated fluctuations. Compared to the panicked purchases over the past several weeks, buyers have now composed themselves, and are deciding on procurements based on the recovery of demand. Wafer remains as the category with a clearer inflation tendency, where 512Gb TLC wafer spots have climbed 2.02% in the spot market this week, arriving at US$1.620.

DRAM Spot Market
Spot prices of DRAM products have risen slightly lately due to Samsung’s earlier attempt to raise prices of 3D NAND Flash wafers as well as the temporary halt in the flow of rebelled used chips into the market. DDR4 products have experienced a more noticeable price increase compared with DDR5 products. However, there is still insufficient actual demand to sustain the rise in spot prices. Furthermore, most spot traders already have sufficient inventory. Therefore, prices have stopped falling, but the overall transaction volume is not expanding. TrendForce believes spot prices are near the trough for this downturn phase of the price cycle. Nevertheless, there is some time before the overall average spot will rebound because demand visibility is limited. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) fell by 0.34% from US$1.456 last week to US$1.451 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market
The intermittent price increases of packaged dies at various capacities are reflecting persistently sluggish market demand, while wafer prices, after several consecutive weeks of elevation in prices, are now gradually subsiding in differences to that of the contract market. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 3.88% this week, arriving at US$1.578.

DRAM Spot Market
TrendForce has found that in the past week, the supply of used DDR4 chips (that were stripped from decommissioned server DRAM modules) has started to tighten. Therefore, products in the lower price range have also experienced small price hikes. However, the biggest issue still lies with the demand situation. The spot trading of chips and modules will remain tepid as long as buyers lack the willingness to make significant procurements. The average price of the mainstream chips (DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) fell by 0.21% from US$1.460 last week to US$1.457 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market
The spot market is seen with fluctuations of prices among packaged dies at different capacities, though the tendency has not continued regardless. With suppliers constantly increasing their quotations, buyers are still at the wait-and-see end and have yet to fully turn aggressive in the stocking. Wafer prices, after several consecutive weeks of slow increment, are now drawing near the low market price interval. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 5.49% this week, arriving at US$1.519.

DRAM Spot Market:

The spot market has shown no demand turnaround this week, so prices there are stagnant. Unlike the situation in the contract market, suppliers are not collectively attempting to moderate the price decline in the spot market due to the lack of a notable rebound in the sales of consumer electronics. Also, high inventories held by module houses are keeping spot prices on a downward trajectory. On the whole, spot prices of DDR4 and DDR5 products continue to show daily drops. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) fell by 0.07% from US$1.461 last week to US$1.460 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market:

The spot market is seen with a recovery of purchase willingness this week due to the power outage at SK hynix, though TrendForce’s survey confirms that the particular incident has not yielded any impact towards market supply. Low-priced transactions no longer exist among spot prices of NAND Flash after suppliers’ significant drop of production in 2H23, and the declination that lasted for several consecutive weeks is now halted. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 0.28% this week, arriving at US$1.440.

SK Hynix, a semiconductor leader, announced a significant breakthrough in NAND flash technology on August 9 at the Flash Memory Summit in California. They introduced a pioneering 321-layer 1Tb TLC 4D NAND flash memory, marking a notable advancement in NAND capabilities.

As the first company in the industry to surpass 300 layers in NAND development, SK Hynix plans to refine the 321-layer NAND for mass production by mid-2025. This leap builds upon their expertise gained from 238-layer NAND production, showcasing their commitment to pushing technological boundaries.

The efficiency of the 321-layer NAND is 59% higher than its 238-layer predecessor, attributed to enhanced data storage unit stacking. This translates to increased storage capacity and improved chip output per wafer.

In response to the growing demand for high-performance memory solutions in the AI market, SK Hynix unveiled next-gen NAND products, including PCIe 5-equipped enterprise SSDs and UFS 4.0 solutions, catering to the increasing need for advanced storage.

SK Hynix’s dedication to innovation is further emphasized by its ongoing development of PCI 6.0 and UFS 5.0 products, solidifying its market leadership position. Meanwhile, VP of SK Hynix NAND Flash Development, affirmed their commitment to leading the NAND technology domain with the development of fifth-gen 321-layer 4D NAND, tailored to the AI era.

(Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/OJ3_hw2jQuXT5YGiX0K8-Q)