Another chip joining the storage price hike camp

Source: Global Electronics Market

    On December 25th, according to Taiwan Economic Daily, after NAND Flash and DRAM prices gradually stopped falling and rebounded, NOR Flash benefited from inventory replenishment, especially with the explosive growth of NOR Flash capacity on each AI terminal device, leading NOR Flash to take over and launch a new wave of memory price increases. It is expected to rise by 5% starting next month and another 10% in the second quarter of next year.

    This is the dawn of the NOR Flash market, which has been sluggish for more than a year, reflecting the resurgence of demand in the smartphone market, the wave of device replacements driven by AI PCs, and the successful driving force of future demand for AI edge devices in the market.

    Industry analysis shows that NOR Flash suppliers such as Huabang and Wanghong gradually started reducing production at the end of last year, effectively reducing market inventory levels. In the previous period, the average inventory level in the industry was about three to four weeks; Recently, the rebound in terminal demand has triggered a drag effect, causing OEM and system factory inventories to quickly drop to only about two weeks. Replenishing inventory is urgent, and with increasing demand and decreasing supply, this wave of NOR Flash quotation rise has been driven up.

    The industry points out that due to the expectation of OEM and system manufacturers to start stocking and replenishing inventory during the traditional off-season in the first quarter of next year, the NOR Flash market will show a non off-season trend next year, and driven by stronger demand, NOR Flash prices are expected to increase by 5%. With the continuous recovery of market demand, the price increase in the second quarter of next year will continue, and the increase is expected to expand to 10%.