TrendForce reports that NVIDIA’s Hopper H100 began to see a reduction in shortages in 1Q24. The new H200 from the same platform is expected to gradually ramp in Q2, with the Blackwell platform entering the market in Q3 and expanding to data center customers in Q4.
TrendForce reports that adoption of enterprise SSDs by AI servers began in February, which subsequently led to large orders. Additionally, PC and smartphone customers have been increasing their inventory levels to manage rising prices. This trend drove up NAND Flash prices and shipment levels in 1Q24 and boosted quarterly revenue by 28.1% to US$14.71 billion.
Overall, AI server orders and stable ICT product demand—despite not seeing high seasonal growth—are helping stabilize production capacity utilization. As a result, MLCC shipments are projected to increase by 6.8% in the second quarter to reach 1.2345 trillion units, which will also drive slight revenue growth in the same period.
TrendForce posits that Chinese EVs account for less than 2% of the US EV market, making the actual impact of these tariff hikes minimal. However, the increased battery tariffs are expected to raise EV production costs for US automakers. This could complicate efforts to reduce overall vehicle costs and incentivize consumer purchases.
TrendForce reports that this move has accelerated a shift in supply chains, resulting in increased orders for Taiwanese foundries, which are now seeing higher-than-expected capacity utilization rates. In the second half of this year, Vanguard's capacity utilization rate is expected to rise above 75%, PSMC's 12-inch capacity utilization rate will reach between 85 to 90%, and UMC's overall capacity utilization rates are projected to reach 70–75%.