2H May mainstream NAND Flash MLC average contract price slightly declined 2-6pc

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: NAND Flash contract price remains flat in 2H May. Some mainstream MLC average contract price has slightly declined 2 percent to 6 percent due to the high density products promotion by some vendors in Mid-May,says DRAMeXchange.

Fig.1: 32Gb MLC NAND Flash Contract Price trendWith the coming quarter end, some vendors already initiated the promotion programs to lower their inventory level. High density NAND Flash MLC chips under new process technology have comparably favor discount than those low density chips under more mature process technology.

Therefore, the decline degree of the contract price “Low” for 32Gb MLC NAND Flash is larger than other NAND Flash chips in 2HMay. Meanwhile, some vendors keep making effort on the contract price stabilization to improve profitability since they still treat system maker customers as the shipment priority and result in the flat contract price “High” of 32Gb MLC NAND Flash in 2HMay.According to DRAMeXchange.

As for the demand side, DRAMeXchange states that May and June are perceived as the slow seasons for NAND Flash end products such as memory card and UFD. Some downstream clients are expecting for lower chip price for the sake of promotion in summer break.

Fig. 2: 32Gb MLC NAND Flash Spot Price trendHowever, the 2Q09 profitability has turned to the first priority of the suppliers and stable chip price in June is the clearly intension. The mindset difference toward future price between buyers and suppliers has resulted in the recent fluctuation and consolidation in spot market.

The June contract price is likely to remain flat or might slightly soften due to the tug-of-war status between both sides.