The global SSD market is expected to grow from $5.4 billion in 2016 to $11.2 billion by 2021, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets. However, this growth could be hampered by a manufacturing catastrophe that could drive up SSD prices. A manufacturing catastrophe could occur if a major SSD manufacturer experiences a major production issue and is unable to meet demand. This would cause the price of SSDs to increase, as suppliers would be forced to raise their prices in order to recoup their losses. If this happens, it could have a significant impact on the global SSD market. The report estimates that if the price of an SSD increases by 50%, the total value of the global market will increase by $1.8 billion. This means that even a small increase in the price of an SSD can have a significant impact on overall industry growth. If you’re looking for an affordable way to improve your computer’s performance, consider investing in an SSD instead of a traditional hard drive. By using an SSD, you’ll be able to load your computer with faster programs and games much more quickly than with a traditional hard drive. ..
According to Western Digital, the loss of drives was caused by a containment issue at some of its NAND production locations. The loss occurred at its Yokkaichi and Kitakami joint venture, flash fabrication facilities. These are a joint venture between Kioxia and Western Digital. Together, the two firms make up about 30% of the NAND flash memory market, so this could be a big problem.
According to market research company TrendForce, this could lead to a price hike of as much as 10% for NAND SSDs as the market compensates for the sudden shortage of drives.
As if it wasn’t already hard enough to find computer components at reasonable prices, Western Digital’s containment issue and massive loss might make another necessary PC part even more expensive (NAND SSDs already aren’t cheap).
For its part, Western Digital says it’s “working closely with its joint venture partner, Kioxia, to implement necessary measures that will restore the facilities to normal operational status as quickly as possible.”
Unfortunately, the company didn’t address how this would impact its ability to keep up with market demands, so we’ll have to keep an eye on the price of NAND SSDs to see what happens going forward.
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