Market Research Firm TrendForce Releases Statistics
The NAND flash market, which was hit hard by the semiconductor downturn, rebounded in the second quarter. As efforts to cut production by NAND industry players, including Samsung Electronics, took effect, there are forecasts that the market situation could improve in the second half of the year.
Market research firm TrendForce announced on the 12th that the NAND market sales in the second quarter increased by 7.4% from the previous quarter to $9.338 billion. Although the average selling price (ASP) of NAND dropped by 10-15% compared to the previous quarter, making the market situation difficult, the overall sales were boosted by a 19.9% increase in bit shipments.
The top two companies in the industry, Samsung Electronics and Japan's Kioxia, saw their second-quarter sales slightly decrease from the previous quarter, and their market shares also declined accordingly. Samsung Electronics' market share in the second quarter was 31.1%, down 2.6 percentage points from the previous quarter. Kioxia recorded a market share of 19.6%, down 1.7 percentage points from the previous quarter.
NAND Vendor Sales Scale and Market Share Comparison Between Q1 and Q2 / [Image provided by market research firm TrendForce]
The 3rd and 5th ranked companies saw significant sales growth, which also increased their market shares. The 3rd place SK Hynix (including its subsidiary Solidigm) increased sales by 26.6% from the previous quarter, with its market share rising by 2.7 percentage points to 26.6%. The 5th place U.S. company Micron also increased sales by 27.6% from the previous quarter, capturing a 13.0% market share, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous quarter.
TrendForce expects the NAND market sales growth rate in the third quarter to exceed 3%. Similar to the second quarter, NAND ASP may fall by 5-10% compared to the previous quarter, but the market size could expand due to increased bit shipments driven by the peak season effect. They also evaluated Samsung Electronics' plan to increase NAND production cuts as a positive factor.
The company stated, "Samsung Electronics began reducing production from the second quarter and plans to increase the scale of production cuts in the third quarter," adding, "As inventory decreases, the chronic supply-demand imbalance may be resolved." However, they noted that "since there are many suppliers in the NAND sector, companies with large inventories may engage in aggressive sales in the third quarter," indicating potential variables.
Meanwhile, TrendForce forecasted that NAND prices could stop declining when entering the fourth quarter. They expect NAND prices in that quarter to remain similar to the third quarter or increase by 0-5%. The company explained that as NAND suppliers, including Samsung Electronics, increase the scale of production cuts, the market impact may become apparent.
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