Demand for NAND Flash Remains Strong
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix ramped up their market shares in the NAND flash market in the third quarter of 2021.
Samsung Electronics’ NAND flash sales in the third quarter of 2021 rose 16.5 percent from last quarter to reach US$6.51 billion. Sales growth was driven by increased demand from the smartphone and data center markets, according to TrendForce, a Taiwanese market research firm. Samsung Electronics’ market share rose 0.5 percentage points from 34.0 percent in the second quarter of 2021 to 34.5 percent in the third quarter.
SK Hynix’s third-quarter NAND flash sales totaled US$2.545 billion, up 25.6 percent from the previous quarter. Its market share rose 1.2 percentage points from the second quarter to 13.5 percent. SK Hynix placed third after Samsung Electronics and Japan’s Kioxia.
The market share of Intel’s NAND flash business unit, which is to be acquired by SK Hynix, fell to 6.7 percent in the second quarter and further to 5.9 percent in the third quarter from 7.5 percent in the first quarter.
“The average sale price of Intel's NAND flash products rose nearly 6 percent due to strong demand from the data center sector, but their shipments fell 5 percent quarter-on-quarter due to a shortage of upstream parts,” TrendForce explained,
SK Hynix is currently waiting for approval from Chinese regulators regarding the acquisition of Intel's NAND business. Its market share is expected to rise to about 19 percent when the acquisition is wrapped up. Japan's Kioxia ranked second with a 19.3 percent share, Western Digital of the United States fourth with 13.2 percent, and Micron of the United States fifth with 10.4 percent.
In the third quarter of 2021, the global NAND flash market amounted to US$18,879.1 million, up 15.0 percent from the previous quarter, with strong demand from the data center and smartphone markets driving the expansion, TrendForce analyzed .