Micron, Samsung, SK hynix to Raise NAND Prices in April
Following SanDisk's announcement of a 10% price increase effective in April, reports indicate that Micron, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix will also raise prices next month. A combination of production cuts by major South Korean manufacturers and a recent power outage at Micron's Singapore facility has led to a tightening of supply, contributing to the recovery of NAND prices.
Pang Jiancheng, Chairman of Phison Electronics, revealed that despite orders placed in December 2024, Micron has encountered unexpected delivery shortages. Industry rumors suggest that the power outage at Micron's Singapore NAND plant in January resulted in production losses, disrupting delivery schedules. Although Micron has not publicly addressed the power outage, the company announced in early March that the average price of new orders had risen by 11%.
In response to the market trend, Samsung and SK hynix plan to increase prices starting in April. Both companies have significantly reduced production, with Q1 output dropping over 10% compared to late 2024. Samsung's delivery in March was only 20-25% of the original order. While both manufacturers cite supply constraints as the reason, the price hike strategy is clear. Normal deliveries are expected to resume after April, with NAND prices projected to rise by approximately 10% or more.
Although the current production cuts are not as severe as previous reductions, they have helped to ease the supply-demand imbalance. Initially, market analysts expected NAND prices to decline in the first half of 2025, with recovery in the second half. However, since March, manufacturers have begun discussing price increases earlier than anticipated.
According to DRAMeXchange data from March 13, the spot price for standard DRAM DDR4 8Gb products has reached $1,466, marking a continuous five-day increase since March 7. Similarly, the spot price for 16Gb DDR5 products rose over 6% on March 12 compared to the previous month, reaching $5,068, with this upward trend expected to persist.
