WD Slashing Output Amid Looming SSD Price Bust

[Guest]

Western Digital announced that its revenues and operating income fell by $200 million year-over-year, and it's constricting supply to offset future losses.

WD Slashing Output Amid Looming SSD Price Bust : Read more

 

[derekullo]

Hostile trade environments sounds a lot like being forced to be competitive on price.

 

[InvalidError]

[quotemsg=21434223,0,212804]Hostile trade environments sounds a lot like being forced to be competitive on price.[/quotemsg]
In the DRAM space, massive price drops due to over-supply from a demand dip were usually followed by one or more memory manufacturers going bankrupt before prices bounced back up. Shouldn't be difficult to imagine how the same thing could happen in the flash memory space.

It doesn't make sense to compete in a market that is below costs.

 

[Peter Martin]

Agreed. Cut losses wherever you can

 

[jimmysmitty]

[quotemsg=21434277,0,125865][quotemsg=21434223,0,212804]Hostile trade environments sounds a lot like being forced to be competitive on price.[/quotemsg]
In the DRAM space, massive price drops due to over-supply from a demand dip were usually followed by one or more memory manufacturers going bankrupt before prices bounced back up. Shouldn't be difficult to imagine how the same thing could happen in the flash memory space.

It doesn't make sense to compete in a market that is below costs.[/quotemsg]

The only downside is the consumer looses out. DDR4 jumped a lot in price. They should allow SSDs to drop to near HDD prices.

As well over saturation is not the fault of the consumer but either way they end up paying.

 

[InvalidError]

[quotemsg=21434343,0,149725]The only downside is the consumer looses out. DDR4 jumped a lot in price. They should allow SSDs to drop to near HDD prices.[/quotemsg]
DDR4 prices jumped a lot because the surviving memory manufacturers have to recover the losses they ate while DRAM prices were low from over-supply and then end up in under-supply again once current stock is gone because there is one less manufacturer in the market. Low prices may be nice, but they aren't sustainable.

As for SSDs coming anywhere near HDD prices, increasing capacity on magnetic platters is still much cheaper and simpler than reliably cramming more cells in flash chips, so don't expect the $/TB to favor SSDs any time soon, if ever even if SSD manufacturers went non-profit.

 

[t.s.wiacek]

"In an earnings call, Western Digital named numerous factors were responsible for this dip, from declining consumer demand... "

It should sound like:
"... from our irrational price increasing policy leading to faster than expected decline in sales... "

They dug their own grave and are blaming customers for not overpaying for their products.

 

[klockwerk]

I still need multi-terabyte backup over years. SSDs are not suitable and you know where you can stick cloud storage.

 

[klockwerk]

I still need multi-terabyte backup over years. SSDs are not suitable and you know where you can stick cloud storage. Never to Buy Another HDD is a bad joke.

 

[elbert]

Good so maybe WD will refocus back to there hard drive business. There is no reason for there 3TB not being $50 and there 4TB $65ish. There are both nearing a decade old capacity. The should move beyond most SSD capacity"s sold like in the old days. WD could still sale their near 5 year old capacity 6TB drives for $100 and make huge profits. If you ask me HD will never be totally replaced by ssd given some data has very little need of fast loading. My old home movie restoration for example which I use Plex to watch them.

 

[zenmas95]

With the demise of crypto mining hardware prices with finally stabilize.

 

[TJ Hooker]

[quotemsg=21437992,0,2759460]With the demise of crypto mining hardware prices with finally stabilize.[/quotemsg]
Crypto mining had nothing to do with the flash shortage/high SSD prices.

 

[InvalidError]

[quotemsg=21441690,0,1636679][quotemsg=21437992,0,2759460]With the demise of crypto mining hardware prices with finally stabilize.[/quotemsg]
Crypto mining had nothing to do with the flash shortage/high SSD prices.[/quotemsg]
I'd say there is an indirect link: NAND is made using fundamentally the same process and fabs as DRAM. When DRAM prices crashed a couple of years ago, many DRAM fabs got converted to NAND. Now that crypto has died down, there is less demand for GDDR/HBM and fab capacity may have been reallocated to NAND.

The biggest factor though would be China securing commitments from companies to build NAND and DRAM fabs in-land as settlement for anti-trust lawsuits.