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)

DRAM Spot Market
Compared with last week, there are signs that the decline in DRAM spot prices is easing, but there has not been a noticeable increase in overall transaction volume. The spot market still has an abundant supply of DDR4 products mainly due to the influx of rebelled chips from decommissioned server DRAM modules. As a result, DDR4 products are under greater pressure to sell compared with DDR5 products. Currently, consumer 1Gx8 DDR4 chips are priced around US$0.88-0.9, while those from CXMT are priced around US$1. DDR4 chips from other suppliers are mostly being sold to customers in the industrial equipment segment, resulting in higher spot prices of around US$1.4. DDR5 products have relatively stable spot prices as they belong to the new generation and their supply has not been affected by recalled products. The average spot price of DDR5 2Gx8 chips from suppliers is now above US$4. In sum, DRAM spot prices are not showing signs of a rebound in the near future, mainly due to sluggish demand and an excess supply of DDR4 products. The average spot price of mainstream chips (DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) dropped by 0.41% from US$1.468 last week to US$1.462 this week.

NAND Spot Market
Peak season effects are yet to be seen from the demand end, where NAND Flash suppliers’ successive increase of quotations has not ramped up stocking dynamics as some module houses have long raised their inventory, and the retail market is experiencing a poor level of actual transactions without aggressive price negotiations. Prices are maintained at a consolidation this week. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 1.06% this week, arriving at US$1.436.

DRAM Spot Market:

Continuing from the previous week, the influx of used chips that were stripped from decommissioned server DRAM modules is still causing spot prices of DDR4 products to drop. As for DDR5 products, there is no such issue affecting their supply. However, module houses are holding a high level of inventory for DDR5 products because they stocked up aggressively in 2Q23, while the actual demand remains in a slump. Hence, spot prices on the whole have kept falling. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666 MT/s) dropped by 0.74% from US$1.479 last week to US$1.468 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market:

The spot market has been lingering at sluggish transactions since July under feeble inquiries between market participants. Fortunately, the reduction of spot prices has somewhat mitigated over the past two weeks due to suppliers’ continuous intention in an on-going production cut and price increment. Certain components have not seen a further drop in prices after a consolidation at the low end, though the level of transactions remains at a rather insignificant extent, and the continuity of purchases will require further observations. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 1.21% this week, arriving at US$1.421.