Shortage of supply?

Are there any external factors that might give manufacturers an excuse to keep SSD prices high?

One of the major components in mobile and SSD storage is NAND flash memory. A surge in demand, as well as a move to different manufacturing processes, has seen NAND prices edge up by some 12% over the past year.

While it might not explain the huge prices added to end-user devices, it does explain why high-capacity SSDs remain tantalisingly out of reach for many home system builders who have been waiting for prices to drop. “We have seen client SSD prices move higher compared to where they were last year and pricing has been increasing since the second half of 2016,” said Jeffrey Janukowicz, research vice president for solid state drives at IDC.

There are several different flavours of NAND and as the industry moves to make wafers more dense, output in factories has been hit, leading to stock shortages. “The reason for the increase stems from NAND flash supply constraints as the industry transitions from 2D to 3D NAND,” said Janukowicz.

“All major NAND manufacturers are in the process of ramping this new technology and while the products mature and yields improve, the industry has not been able to keep up with the demand given the recent launch of new mobile phones (like the iPhone 8) and the strong demand for SSDs.”

Analysts predict the market will return to normal at some point in 2018, so let’s hope savings are duly passed on.