NAND flash contract prices dropped by nearly 15% in early May and fell by 5-10% at the end of May. In view of the sluggish prices, players in the supply chain hope that NAND flash contract prices can stop falling at the end of June and then rebound in the third quarter, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Many new ultrabook PC models, smartphones and tablets are expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2012, with the devices expected to bring increased demand for built-in SSDs and eMMC and in turn, increasing demand for NAND flash, the sources pointed out.

In addition, memory module makers plan to promote the sale of USB 3.0 flash drives in line with the launch of Intel Ivy Bridge processors in the third quarter, the sources indicated.