Selasa, 07 Agustus 2012

Samsung and SK Hynix Cut Back on NAND Manufacture


Solid-state drives have stopped being the main ones responsible for the poor performance of the NAND Flash memory market, but it has become apparent that they never did cause the segment to drag its feet on their own.

One might say that solid-state drives are experiencing a better sales level than a year before, enough that even the greatest HDD makers are looking to acquire SSD experts.

That means that, if the NAND Flash memory market is still weak, the marketing performance of memory cards and USB flash drives is to blame.

According to a new report, the situation truly is troublesome, if not outright troubling. Samsung and SK Hynix, two of the world's greatest suppliers of NAND chips, have decided to reduce production by 10%.

This follows a similar move by Toshiba, although that one was a tad bit more drastic.

Where Samsung and SK Hynix are only cutting back 10%, Toshiba reduced the output of its Yokkaichi Operation plant (Mie Prefecture, Japan) by 30%.

It isn't easy to estimate how much longer the oversupply will last. Prices may have stopped falling for now, but demand continues to remain weak.

It doesn't help at all that makers of new smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks have deliberately chosen to roll out such gadgets later instead of sooner.

If we were to guess, we'd expect this situation to last for the remainder of the year, even though Windows 8/RT and a whole pack of ultrabooks and tablets will be sent out in October / November.

We don't dispute the likelihood, certainty even, that SSD sales will jump more than usual during the holiday season, but we doubt they will compensate for a whole year of disappointing consumer interest in flash drives and memory cards.

Not that we, consumers, have anything to complain about. After all, lower prices are never unwelcome.

Via: Samsung and SK Hynix Cut Back on NAND Manufacture

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