As OEMs resume production early, in part due to the threat of tariffs by the US government, client SSD contract prices are now projected to rise 3% to 8% QoQ in Q2.
Technologies like DeepSeek have significantly lowered AI model training costs, spurring strong demand for high-performance storage solutions in China. In North America, however, demand is being seen as more polarised: server brand orders have been weaker than expected, while CSPs are increasing procurement as NVIDIA’s Blackwell platform begins shipping. Consequently, enterprise SSD orders are expected to see slight QoQ growth in Q2.
Some vendors have slashed PCIe 4.0 SSD prices by over 20% in Q1 to clear inventory but with suppliers adjusting capacity and orders accelerating, enterprise SSD contract prices are expected to hold steady in Q2.
According to TrendForce shipments of smart TVs, tablets, and Chromebooks are expected to rise in Q2 and coupled with a stable demand for mid-to-low-end smartphones in emerging markets and subsidy policies in China, eMMC orders are seeing an uptick.
Previous oversupply and price declines had seen NAND Flash makers fall into losses, prompting production cuts to rebalance the market. To return to profitability, suppliers have raised wafer prices for module makers, who in turn are less able to compete with low prices, easing pricing pressure on the original suppliers. As a result, eMMC contract prices are projected to remain flat in Q2.
UFS demand remains stable, supported by high-end smartphones and increasing storage requirements in automotive applications. On the supply side, however, overall NAND Flash capacity adjustments have reduced UFS availability, and Q2 contract prices are expected to remain unchanged from the previous quarter.
In the NAND Flash wafer market, prices have hit bottom and inventory restocking is underway, according to TrendForce. Both module makers and OEMs are increasing procurement, while the rebound in enterprise SSD demand is driving interest in high-end wafer products.
With reduced wafer supply from production cuts and new pricing strategies for high-layer NAND Flash in response to recovering demand, Q2 NAND Flash wafer contract prices are now expected to rise by 10% to 15%.
