India, July 18 -- TrendForce's recent memory pricing survey shows that more mature NAND process capacity is being shifted toward higher-value products like high-layer-count 3D NAND, leading to a significant shortage of MLC NAND supply. As a result, some industrial, automotive, and networking clients are considering switching to SLC NAND, further tightening the already limited market.

Meanwhile, demand for SLC NAND continues to grow in AI edge computing, data centers, and automotive electronics, causing the supply-demand gap to widen quickly. TrendForce predicts SLC NAND contract prices will rise by 120-170% in the second half of 2026 compared to the first half, with potential for even greater increases.

TrendForce notes that MLC NAND co...