NAND flash memory manufacturers plan to cut capacity in 2019

According to foreign media, in order to prevent NAND flash price crash may cause significant losses, NAND flash three: Intel, micron, SK hynix, will plan to take measures to prevent the market "oversupply".In other words, the big three will consider reducing production of wafers and flash memory, as well as slowing production at new factories to reduce losses.Samsung may follow suit, according to sources.

The rapid transition to high-capacity 64 - and 96-layer 3D NAND technology will allow NAND flash manufacturers to increase the supply of particles and eventually saturate the market.

At the same time, demand for NAND flash memory in the server market has been weaker than expected in recent months, and strong smartphone replacement cycles are getting longer, which has also affected NAND flash shipments.Add the influence of other element, flash memory manufacturers have the idea that reduces capacity, also be understandable.

According to data from TrendForce, the supply of NAND is now far outstripping demand, which could lead to a price drop of as much as 20% in a variety of categories in the first quarter of 2019.To ensure short-term and long-term profitability, the three manufacturers have announced at different points in the past few months that they will take action to minimize losses.

Micron said in March that it was carefully managing the growth in NAND supply under its control, which would at least partially alleviate the oversupply problem, and that it was starting to cut back on total wafer capacity (about 5 percent) at its traditional process nodes.Although micron has not made it clear that it plans to reduce its NAND supply, reducing the proportion of production scheduled for older processes could help reduce its overall shipping costs.

SK hynix said it has stopped producing 36-tier and 48-tier 3D NAND memory.Compared to the current new technology, the "cost per bit" of the old process is already quite high.SK hynix plans to increase production of its 72-tier 3D NAND in the coming months, and plans to release its 96-tier 3D NAND solution for the SSD and mobile markets in the second half of this year.In addition, SK hynix will slow down production at its M15 plant in cheongju, South Korea.The company expects its NAND wafer production to fall by more than 10 percent compared with 2018.SK hynix, like micron, did not specify specific production cuts, so shipments in 2019 could still be larger than last year.

Intel, which is more focused on the enterprise SSD market, also announced this week that it will reduce NAND production in 2019.It did not disclose details of the plan or how aggressive it would be.However, Intel remains wary of future NAND price wars and is prepared to act accordingly.

Finally, samsung issued a warning to investors even though it has yet to report its first-quarter 2019 results.Compared with the same period last year, local profits may plunge by 60%.Analysts blame a combination of factors, including weak demand for flagship smartphones and market prices for DRAM and NAND storage.Samsung, like the other three flash memory giants, is likely to adjust its NAND business this year.Exactly how remains to be seen.