TrendForce's recent research indicates that as major international NAND Flash producers reduce or halt MLC NAND Flash output and redirect their capital and R&D investments toward advanced process tech, the worldwide MLC NAND Flash capacity is expected to decrease by 41.7% YOY in 2026, leading to increased supply-demand discrepancies.

The significant decline in MLC NAND Flash supply is mainly due to Samsung—formerly the largest supplier—announcing in March 2025 that its MLC NAND products would reach end of life, with final shipments in June 2026. Additionally, Kioxia, SK hynix, and Micron have limited their MLC production primarily to meet existing customer demand, with little motivation to increase capacity. As supply rapidly contracted and no large, quickly ramping replacement capacity appeared, the MLC NAND Flash market experienced strong pull-in demand and early volume commitments from late 1Q25, causing prices to rise sharply and maintain this upward trend.