It is predicted that SSD prices may increase due to a shortage of chipset supply while the operation of Samsung Electronics’ Austin plant was shut down due to the strongest cold wave ever hit in Texas.
On the 21st, market research firm Trend Force released a report stating that the lead time of the controller chipset for solid state drives (SSD) increased due to the shutdown of Samsung Electronics’ Austin Foundry Plant (S2), which could be a factor in price hikes. .
In a report, Trend Force said, “Samsung Electronics has been producing NAND flash and controller chipsets for SSDs at the Austin Fab’s 14-40 nanometer process. The impact of this power outage on the production of controller chipsets is limited, but SSD buyers’ urgent orders It could lead to a potential price increase due to the problem.”
“As PC OEMs (original manufacturers) have recently started negotiating SSD purchases, major SSD suppliers have no choice but to consider the burden of supplying controller chipsets, which could lead to price hikes. If we accept the increase, we cannot rule out the possibility of a positive change in the overall SSD price.”
Trend Force also raised concerns that this power outage could further worsen the supply-demand imbalance in the global semiconductor market, such as the scarcity of automotive semiconductors.
Trend Force said, “The main process of Samsung Electronics’ Austin Fab is 11 to 14 nanometers, and Qualcomm’s 5G radio frequency chipset is mainly produced. The remaining 28 to 65 nanometers process, Samsung Electronics (LSI business) products, Tesla and Automotive semiconductors for Renesas are also manufactured.”
“The 12-inch wafer capacity of the Austin fab accounts for about 5% of the global 12-inch wafer fab capacity on a monthly basis.” It is expected,” he added.
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Meanwhile, the Austin plant of Samsung Electronics is expected to take about a week to operate normally. Samsung Electronics has dispatched dozens of technical personnel to minimize the time it takes for power supply to resume.
An official in the semiconductor industry said, “In the case of Austin, there is no separate quarantine period, so technical personnel who have completed corona 19 testing and pre-training will be put in immediately.”
☞ Glossary: Lead Time
Lead time refers to the period from the time the material is input to the production start after the design is completed, and the product is completed and stored in the finished product warehouse.