Prices for low-capacity microSD cards have risen substantially recently, according to industry sources. The price rally, however, does not imply demand is picking up but the limited chip availability.
Major producers of NAND flash memory – also the major players in the microSD card market – have strategically scaled down their supply of microSD cards and also flash memory wafers to channel distributors and carefully selected customers and orders with an aim to stabilize prices, the sources indicated. While distributors are holding just the right amount of inventory, a surge in orders can easily lift up market quotes for microSD cards, the sources said.
Many distributors, in addition to selling microSD cards for their customers, purchase flash memory wafers to produce their own microSD cards, so-called white-box products.
Having fallen for half a year, prices for 2GB and 4GB microSD cards rallied 40-50% over the last month, the sources observed. Downstream distributors have begun to stockpile their inventory, but supply is limited to further push up prices, the sources noted.
Actual demand for these low-capacity microSD cards, however, has not seen a substantial rise as global economic uncertainty continues to have a negative impact on consumer purchasing power, the sources pointed out.
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