On December 28, according to Taiwan Economic Daily, due to the shortage of NOR Flash production capacity, Winbond will increase its price by 30% in the next three quarters and has suspended new orders.
The report pointed out that the market of NOR Flash is in short supply. After the leader Winbond increased the price by 7% to 10% in the first quarter of next year, due to the active stocking of customers, it intends to increase the price by 10% in the second and third quarters of next year, which means that the cumulative increase in the next three quarters will exceed 10%. 30%!
According to the supply chain, Winbond’s full-capacity production is still unable to meet all customer needs, and has suspended accepting new orders.
Winbond declined to comment, but emphasized that the NOR Flash market in 2021 is optimistic, customer demand continues to be strong, and market supply is still tight. However, the news of Winbond’s quotation rising to the third quarter and suspending new orders has spread in the industry.
Source: Economic Daily
Industry insiders pointed out that this wave of NOR Flash popularity is mainly related to the imbalance between supply and demand. On the supply side, as SMIC was blacklisted by the U.S. side, the innovation output of the mainland NOR Falsh giant with SMIC as the main film casting factory was simultaneously blocked, resulting in a decrease in supply.
In terms of demand, Apple’s new iPhone 12 series this year is the first time that all series models are equipped with OLED screens, which must be equipped with NOR Flash chips. With the repeated sales of the iPhone 12 series, especially the large-sized Pro and Pro Max models, which are popular, promote Huabang NOR Flash shipments surged simultaneously.
On the other hand, Apple released a new over-ear type true wireless Bluetooth headset (TWS) AirPods Max. Although the asking price is high, the demand is strong and there is a global shortage. Now the order will take at least 12 to 15 weeks to pick up the goods. According to rumors, Apple Additional orders for chips and components have been made to catch up, and the NOR chips required for AirPods Max are being supplied by Winbond.
At the same time, the TWS market demand has exploded in recent years. Apple, Sony, BOSE, Beats, Samsung, Huawei, etc. have all launched their own TWS headphones. Each TWS needs to be equipped with NOR chips, which greatly increases the market demand.
Winbond is the global leader in NOR chips. According to a report by WebFeet Research, a market research organization, Winbond had a market share of 22.8% in NOR-related chip revenue last year. In 2019, the total shipment of Winbond Flash products exceeded 3 billion, with a global share of 27.3%.
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