The Surge in NAND SSD Prices: Why and how to get ahead
In a surprising turn of events, the world of storage technology is witnessing a notable shift as NAND SSD prices are set to surge by over 40%. This abrupt increase comes after a period of historically low prices in 2023, leaving consumers and industry experts perplexed that this is being driven by losses encountered by the Big 5 Manufacturers.
Major players in the global NAND flash market include Samsung (31.4%), SK Group (20.2%), Western Digital (16.9%), Kioxia (14.5%), and Micron (12.5%). With companies scaling back production to stabilise prices, the law of supply and demand is driving prices higher.
Samsung themselves, the worlds #1 Memory and Chipmaker is estimated to have lost circa $10 Billion in their Semiconductor business operations in 2023.
They are working to rake in over $8.8 Billion in operating profit in 2024, which means that they not only need to cover the loss made in 2023 but increase significantly to enable them to make the profit of $8.8 Billion!
As we understand it Samsung have put on a 20% increase per quarter through 2024, and other NAND suppliers are set to follow suit.
In addition suppliers are also restricting production to stabilise pricing until inventory and price are at a level where they are profitable.
Before shaking your head, it’s important to establish some context. Last year the prices of SSDs kept decreasing, this was mainly driven by NAND flash price drops (the key part of an SSD). So if they dropped it then why are they now raising the prices? Well the turnaround is to ensure NAND suppliers like Samsung, SK Group, and Western Digital can turn a profit. Despite the initial surge in prices, SSD prices remain significantly lower than they were just a few years ago.
If you're in the market for a new SSD for your PC, it's advisable to make the purchase sooner rather than later. There's a noticeable uptick in prices, and various sources in recent months suggest that leading NAND flash manufacturers are poised to sustain this upward trend. While it might not reach the peaks observed at the close of 2022, it remains prudent to acquire an SSD sooner to mitigate the potential impact of further price increases.
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1. Samsung Internal SSD 870 EVO
Samsung Internal SSD 870 EVO 2.5" 500 GB Serial ATA III V-NAND (gotraka.com)
2. Samsung 980 PRO M.2 1000 GB
Samsung 980 PRO M.2 1000 GB PCI Express 4.0 V-NAND MLC NVMe (gotraka.com)
3.Samsung Internal SSD 870 EVO
Kingston A400 480GB SATA III 2.5" Internal SSD SA400S37/480G (gotraka.com)
7. Kingston Technology Internal SSD 960 GB
Kingston Technology Internal SSD A400 2.5" 960 GB Serial ATA III TLC (gotraka.com)
