While memory giants are reportedly raising DRAM prices by up to 30% in Q4 on strong HBM demand, NAND flash is proving to be just as hot a commodity. According to New Daily, Samsung, SK hynix, and Kioxia are running their SSD production lines at full capacity, with some models now facing delivery delays of more than a year.

Notably, High-capacity products of 8TB or more are particularly tight, with most shipments already booked through the second half of next year, New Daily notes.

TrendForce observes that the massive data volumes generated by AI are straining the global infrastructure of data center storage. Nearline HDDs, traditionally the backbone of large-scale data storage, are now facing severe supply shortages, pushing high-performance yet higher-cost SSDs into the market spotlight. In particular, shipments of high-capacity QLC SSDs could see explosive growth in 2026, as per TrendForce.

TrendForce noted in mid-September that lead times for nearline HDDs have stretched to as long as 52 weeks.

New Daily explains that, unlike HDDs which rely on spinning disks to store data, SSDs write information directly onto NAND flash memory. This architecture reportedly gives SSDs a clear advantage: they can access data dozens of times faster, use far less power, and produce much less heat and noise—making them ideal for demanding tasks like AI training and inference.

Memory Giants Move to Respond

TrendForce reports that in response, HDD and SSD makers are expanding high-capacity storage. According to TrendForce, with HDD supply tight, NAND flash vendors are accelerating tech upgrades and boosting production of ultra-high-capacity nearline SSDs, including 122TB and 245TB models, easing concerns over long-term demand.

New Daily reports that prices for 200+ layer NAND used in enterprise SSDs are soaring amid a tightening supply, prompting suppliers to swiftly recalibrate production plans. The report notes Samsung has launched a lineup of PCIe 5.0 SSDs for data centers, expanded long-term deals with major U.S. and European cloud providers, and is gearing up for mass production of its next-gen 300-layer NAND.

Meanwhile, SK hynix—through its subsidiary Solidigm—is reportedly strengthening its foothold in the North American data center market, operating a dedicated SSD production line tailored for AI servers.

Legacy HDD leaders such as Seagate and Western Digital, according to the report, are responding by scaling back production lines or pivoting toward SSD-focused operations.