Jibang Consulting: SLC NAND prices are expected to rise 120-170% in the second half of the year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to TrendForce Jibang Consulting's latest memory price survey, there is an extreme shortage of MLC NAND supply due to high-value-added products such as high-rise 3D NAND crowding out production capacity in mature processes, forcing some industrial control, automotive, and Netcom customers to plan to switch to SLC NAND, which will cause the already tight SLC supply situation to become even more tight. At the same time, demand for SLC for AI edge computing, data centers, automotive electronics, etc. continues to rise, and the supply and demand gap widens dramatically. It is estimated that it will push SLC contract prices up 120-170% in the second half of 2026 compared to the first half of the year. It is not ruled out that there is room for improvement.

TrendForce Jibang Consulting said that the MLC contract price reached an all-time high in the first half of 2026, and some buyers turned cautious in their pickup pace, but industrial control, automotive and other customers have rigid requirements for memory certification and specifications, and there is still a need to pick up inventory. Faced with unavailability of goods on the market and huge cost pressure, some customers who originally used medium- to low-capacity MLC switched to SLC 4Gb and 8Gb particles with high reliability and longer lifespan (100,000 P/E).

Moreover, SLC's four niche applications are experiencing comprehensive growth, building the foundation for rigid demand. In the field of AI edge computing and high-end networking, as real-time AI inference quickly penetrates terminals, smart factories, autonomous mobile devices, and new-generation Netcom switches continue to be shipped, requiring SLC to carry the rapid guidance of core real-time operating systems. However, various countries are actively setting up Netcom infrastructure and data center projects, which consume large amounts of SLC NAND as operating system boot drives (boot drives) and high-frequency write buffers (Write-Intensive Buffers). The automotive electronics and smart home parts require SLC to support uninterrupted operation and zero error reading and writing systems. As for extreme environments with zero tolerance for data errors, such as medical imaging and space defense, SLC has become a core technical solution that can achieve long-term data storage.

TrendForce Jibang Consulting pointed out that in the short term, none of the world's major SLC NAND suppliers are planning new production capacity, but are focusing on process reduction, yield improvement, and optimization of unit wafer output. Facing the MLC order transfer effect and the explosion of demand for niche applications, it is expected that the SLC market pattern will shift to a structural shortage in the second half of 2026. Considering factors such as the third quarter coincides with the peak season for traditional preparation, continued decline in the supply of mature manufacturing processes in the fourth quarter, and inventory bottoming out, it is expected that the overall SLC price in the second half of the year will grow 120-170% from the first half of the year, and there is still a possibility of an increase.