On January 21, The Korea Business Daily reported that global memory giants Samsung and SK Hynix have announced plans to significantly reduce NAND Flash wafer input in 2026, with a combined production cut of 420,000 wafers—a move that will directly reshape the global NAND supply landscape.
Specifically, Samsung has already begun slightly trimming NAND Flash output, projecting a reduction from 4.9 million wafers in 2025 to 4.68 million wafers in 2026. SK Hynix is following suit, cutting production from 1.9 million wafers in 2025 to 1.7 million wafers in 2026. The synchronized capacity pull‑back by the two leaders exceeds market expectations.
As Samsung and SK Hynix together hold about 60% of the global NAND market, their coordinated production cut is set to further intensify the global NAND shortage, directly affecting downstream supply chains for products such as SSDs and mobile storage.
Industry analysts point out that the decision to reduce output amid strong NAND demand is driven by three core considerations, each addressing critical industry challenges and profitability goals:
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Profit prioritization: HBM and DRAM deliver significantly higher margins than NAND, prompting a shift in capacity allocation toward these more lucrative segments.
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Architecture transition: Manufacturers are accelerating the move from TLC to higher‑capacity QLC architectures, with the tuning phase temporarily lowering output.
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Competitive response: The rise of Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC)—with its growing NAND output and price advantages—has prompted the incumbents to scale back production to mitigate competition and focus on higher‑margin products.
Market impacts are already emerging: TrendForce forecasts NAND contract prices will rise 33%–38% quarter‑over‑quarter in Q1 2026, while IDC notes that NAND bit‑supply growth this year will be around 17%, below recent averages. Combined with expanding AI‑driven demand, tight supply conditions are expected to persist.
ICgoodFind : The production cuts by the two leaders will reshape NAND supply‑demand dynamics, pushing prices upward while also compelling domestic players to accelerate technological breakthroughs, intensifying industry competition.
