Total NAND Flash revenue for 1Q21 increased by 5.1% QoQ to US$14.82 billion, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. In particular, bit shipments rose by 11% QoQ, while the overall ASP dropped by 5% QoQ; hence, bit shipment growth offset the decline in the overall ASP. Although NAND Flash demand from notebook computer and smartphone manufacturers remained high, clients from the data center segment exhibited relatively weak demand, since this segment had yet to leave the state of NAND Flash oversupply. Contract prices for this quarter therefore still mostly showed a considerable QoQ drop. On the other hand, OEMs/ODMs of end products began to increase procurement of NAND Flash products from the second half of January onward because they noticed that the shortage of NAND Flash controller ICs was affecting the production of medium- and low-density storage products. Besides avoiding a possible supply crunch in the future, OEMs/ODMs were placing additional orders because they were preparing for a push to expand market share. On account of these developments, the overall NAND Flash demand surpassed expectations in 1Q21.
Product prices across the overall lighting LED market are expected to increase by about 0.3%-2.3% QoQ in 2Q21, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. This price hike can primarily be attributed to the fact that overall demand in the LED lighting market has been rebounding since 1Q21 and remaining in an uptrend since 2Q21. Furthermore, the industry-wide shortage of LED components in the upstream supply chain, caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has yet to be addressed, thereby compelling lighting product manufacturers to ramp up their procurement activities this year in order to avoid a component shortage, which they suffered last year. TrendForce hence expects this bullish trend in the LED supply chain to result in a US$6.709 billion yearly revenue for the lighting LED market in 2021, a 3.43% growth YoY.
While demand for TVs underwent a slowdown in China and Europe due to the onset of the cyclical downturn, quarterly TV sales in North America reached a historical high in 1Q21 thanks to the proliferation of the stay-at-home economy and government-issued economic stimulus plans, such as the March 2021 handout of US$1,400 stimulus checks to most US citizens, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Bullish TV sales in North America propelled global TV shipment for 1Q21 to 49.96 million units, a 24.2% QoQ decrease but an 11.5% YoY increase.
For the past two years, brands such as Samsung, LG, TCL, and Xiaomi have successively released their own Mini LED backlight TVs, which are expected to reach a yearly shipment of about 2.6-3 million units in 2021 because Korean brands have successfully trailblazed the high-end market, and because Chinese brands have also been ramping up shipment via highly cost-effective models, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations.
Revenues of the top 10 largest packaging/testing (OSAT, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) companies reached US$7.17 billion in 1Q21, a 21.5% increase YoY, with most of these companies recording double-digit growths, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. This bullish performance is primarily attributed to the fact that the post-pandemic new normal, which entails such activities as WFH and distance education, adopted by the general public had become commonplace, as well as the fact that vaccinations in Europe and North America began to somewhat abate the intensity of the pandemic in those areas, with cities successively terminating lockdown measures. Furthermore, demand for IT products, TVs, 5G devices, and automotive electronics persisted given the impending Tokyo Olympics. Finally, end-device manufacturers had been aggressively procuring components since 2H20, in turn leading to a tight production capacity for actors across the semiconductor supply chain. Hence, OSAT companies gradually increased their prices in response to strong demand from clients. Taken together, these aforementioned factors propelled the overall revenue performances from the OSAT industry in 1Q21.
