Fully loaded foundries have stopped quoting for NAND controller ICs reports TrendForce, while they consider rasing prices.

The potential increases in prices of controller ICs from outsourced suppliers (IC design houses) are currently estimated to be in the range of 15-20%.

Demand from Chromebook and TV OEMs for medium density (64Gb and lower) eMMC chips has risen significantly and NAND Flash suppliers have mostly stopped updating the process technology.

Hikes in prices of controller ICs will lead to hikes in module prices with mainstream 32GB and 64GB solutions for Chromebooks experiencing largest increases

TrendForce points out that even though the whole NAND Flash market is still in oversupply right now, medium- and low-density eMMC solutions will likely experience price hikes as they are in tight supply due to insufficient output of controller ICs.

An increase in prices of controller ICs will result in a corresponding increase in the fixed costs of eMMC solutions.

This, in turn, will put pressure on OEMs that are procuring components. With this scenario now becoming a reality, prices of those eMMC solutions that are in high demand could rise slightly in 1Q21. Examples include 32GB and 64GB solutions for Chromebook devices.

In the SSD market, the major NAND Flash suppliers such as Samsung are also the major device manufacturers.

Most SSD manufacturers have in-house controller ICs that are made at foundries under long-term agreements. Hence, there have been no reports of price hikes or shortages for SSD controller ICs.

However, TrendForce has observed that lead time has been prolonged for SSD controller ICs as well. Additionally, the share of SSD controller ICs that have been outsourced to IC design houses has increased for SSDs with PCIe 4.0. In the future, there is an increasing possibility that prices of SSD controller ICs will be affected by the statuses of outsourced IC suppliers.

By: DocMemory
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