Storage units, particularly solid state drives (SSDs), have experienced a significant decline in prices over the past few months. In fact, SSD prices have plummeted by 50%, reaching unprecedented lows in many cases. From March to June, the average drop in SSD prices has been around 25%.
The continuous decrease in prices can be attributed to two main factors: sluggish sales and an oversupply of stock. These combined circumstances have led to a dramatic decline in prices in recent months.
Currently, all storage units available in the market are priced at less than 0.10 euros per 1 GB. Moreover, the majority of SSDs fall within the range of 0.04 to 0.06 euros per 1 GB. This price range applies to SSDs with capacities ranging from 1TB to 4TB, regardless of whether they are SATA, PCIe 3.0, or PCIe 4.0 drives.
Brutal crash in the price of SSDs
The reasons behind the decline in SSD prices remain unchanged, as previously stated. This information has been consistently reported by TrendForce, a specialized storage drive analyst. A particularly noteworthy fact is that the average sale price of SSDs decreased by 15% in the first quarter of 2023.
TrendForce does not provide specific data for the second quarter of 2023, but a price drop ranging between 8% and 13% is anticipated. It is estimated that SSD manufacturers’ revenues have decreased by an average of 47%. Among them, Samsung has experienced the most significant decline at 55%, followed by Western Digital with a drop of 54.4%.
In addition to sluggish sales, the introduction of M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSDs has added to the challenging situation. These units, originally planned for release between October and December 2022, faced delays. While thermal issues were initially thought to be the cause, it appears that the real reason for the delay was to facilitate inventory clearance and avoid further price reductions in the SSD market.
The situation for SSD manufacturers is highly complex, but there is hope for improvement by the end of the year. According to previous reports from TrendForce, the decline in prices should halt in the fourth quarter of 2023. Initially, a price increase was expected, but it seems that this has been delayed until the first quarter of 2024. However, the next two months should see price stabilization, as it is not feasible for prices to fall further.
