TrendForce projects a strong 13–18% increase in Q2 NAND Flash contract prices, with enterprise SSDs expected to rise highest. Despite Kioxia and WDC boosting their production capacity utilization rates from Q1 this year, other suppliers have kept their production strategies conservative.
Additionally, significant price increases by suppliers since 4Q23 are expected to further diminish the momentum for inventory restocking. As a result, DRAM contract prices for the second quarter are projected to see a modest increase of 3–8%, says TrendForce.
Leveraging this foundation, NVIDIA is set to launch AI chips like the B100, B200, and GB200, prepping for a surge in advanced AI applications. With NVIDIA's quick iteration cycle, these improvements in cost-efficiency and energy consumption mean these products could dominate the market by 2025 after their expected late 2024 release.
TrendForce’s latest market report on EV installers reveals that their global installation volume reached 7.14 million units in 4Q23—a roughly 12% increase from 6.39 million units in 3Q23. This growth is primarily due to the increase in EV sales in the last quarter compared to the third quarter. Among these, the inverter market’s main driving force comes from BEVs.
TrendForce reports that anticipation of NAND Flash price hikes into Q2 has motivated certain suppliers to minimize losses and lower costs in hopes of returning to profitability this year. Kioxia and WD led the charge from March, boosting their capacity utilization rates to nearly 90%—a move not widely adopted by their competitors.