Channel SSD and DDR UDIMM Prices Generally Decline Again This Week; LPDDR4X Turns from Stable to Downward Due to Weak Demand

Since April, memory sector stocks both domestically and internationally have successively climbed to new highs, reflecting sustained market exuberance. After the Labor Day holiday, selling pressure on the trade side has gradually eased. Some traders, seeing current prices at near two-month lows, have started bargain-hunting, leading to an initial rebound in channel brand memory retail trading prices. However, recent rebound momentum has weakened amid volatility.

In fact, while inquiry activity in the channel market has picked up, actual confirmed orders remain scarce. On the industry side, certain manufacturers continue to lower prices to drive shipments. Finished memory products including channel SSDs, DDR UDIMMs, and DDR SODIMMs have yet to stabilize. In the embedded market, some manufacturers have obtained cost advantages from newly procured LPDDR4X resources and consequently lowered their finished product quotes. However, weak demand has failed to stimulate shipments, and LPDDR4X product prices turned from stable to downward this week. In contrast, official NAND resource prices from original suppliers have remained firm with slight increases, accompanied by tighter supply control. Correspondingly, industry SSDs and embedded eMMC finished products have shown relatively more stable pricing.

On the upstream resource side, Flash Wafer quotes are flat, while high-grade DDR4 and DDR5 chip prices have increased. Specifically, DDR5 24Gb Major/16Gb Major and DDR4 8Gb 3200 prices have been raised to $40.00/$35.00/$18.00 per unit respectively.

Although post-holiday selling pressure and price undercutting in the channel trade have significantly decreased, the stock market fervor in memory has spilled over to the channel market. Some traders, having exited last month, have resumed building inventory based on current prices being near two-month lows. Channel brand SSDs and DDR UDIMMs saw initial retail price stabilization or rebounds across varying degrees. Short-term caution in the channel market is slowly dissipating, with inquiries increasing month-on-month. However, price gaps between buyers and sellers persist, making actual transactions difficult. This week, channel SSDs and DDR UDIMMs have seen minor downward adjustments.

Over the past six months or more, sharp memory price increases have challenged industry customers’ affordability. In some cases, high-priced industry memory products have exceeded acceptable levels for specific application scenarios. Some PC customers have reduced capacity, with low-capacity DDR4 products such as 8GB being more widely used. Leveraging lower-cost secondary resources accumulated earlier, industry manufacturers still have considerable room for price adjustments while maintaining certain profit margins. Coupled with ongoing pricing pressure from certain competitors, industry 8GB DDR4 SODIMM prices saw a slow decline this week.

Some memory manufacturers successfully secured lower-priced LPDDR4X resources from original suppliers in April through competitive bidding compared to the previous month, effectively reducing finished product costs. However, on the demand side, market buying sentiment has remained weak. Even when cost-advantaged manufacturers proactively lowered finished product quotes, customers remained predominantly wait-and-see, showing little intention to transact. The low-cost advantage has failed to translate into actual shipment volume amid the sluggish demand environment. This week, most LPDDR4X prices saw slight declines.