Hold on to your wallets! If you’re in the market for anything using NAND flash memory – from SSDs to smartphones – brace yourself. A perfect storm of high demand and constrained supply is sending prices soaring, and experts predict the squeeze isn’t letting up anytime soon.
TrendForce’s latest research paints a stark picture: November 2025 saw some NAND flash wafer contract prices jump by over 60%. What’s driving this dramatic increase?
## AI and Enterprise SSDs Fuel Demand
Two major factors are fueling the insatiable demand for NAND flash. First, the booming AI sector requires massive amounts of storage for training and inference. Second, enterprise SSD orders remain strong, further straining available supply. At the same time, suppliers are focusing their capacity on higher-margin enterprise and premium products, leading to the rapid phasing out of older, less profitable nodes.
This combination of factors has created a significant tightening of wafer supply, leading to the sharp price increases observed in November. Monthly average price increases ranged from 20% to over 60% across various product categories, with the surge affecting all density segments.
## TLC and QLC Hit Hardest
Breaking down the numbers, 1Tb TLC wafers experienced the most significant shortage due to ongoing enterprise SSD demand. 512Gb TLC saw the largest price hike among TLC products, driven by the phasing out of legacy nodes and sustained market demand. Even 256Gb TLC saw substantial price growth as supply shortages re-emerged. QLC is also feeling the pinch. Strong demand for high-capacity enterprise products, particularly for cold-storage applications, has significantly tightened the QLC supply chain, leading to significant price hikes for 1Tb QLC.
TrendForce anticipates that wafer-level supply shortages are unlikely to improve in the near future. With suppliers holding significant pricing power, contract prices are projected to continue their upward trajectory in December. Consumers and businesses alike should prepare for potentially higher prices on devices and systems that rely on NAND flash memory.
