Core Viewpoint - Major NAND flash manufacturers are collaborating to reduce supply in the second half of the year, aiming to drive prices up while transitioning production lines to meet the growing demand for QLC products driven by AI data centers [2][3]. Group 1: Supply Reduction and Price Increase - Eight major NAND flash manufacturers, including Samsung, SK Hynix, Kioxia, and Micron, are reducing NAND flash supply for the latter half of the year, which is expected to lead to production losses [2]. - Samsung is in discussions with large overseas clients regarding supply volumes for next year and is considering a price increase of over 20% to 30% [2]. - Omdia reports that Samsung has lowered its NAND wafer production target for this year to approximately 4.72 million pieces, a decrease of about 7% from last year's 5.07 million pieces [2]. Group 2: Production Adjustments by Competitors - SK Hynix has reduced its NAND output by approximately 10%, from 2.01 million pieces last year to about 1.8 million pieces this year [3]. - Micron is maintaining a cautious supply stance, with its largest NAND production facility in Singapore operating at just above 300,000 pieces [3]. - NAND prices have increased by 15% in the last quarter, with future increases projected to reach 40% to 50% [3]. Group 3: Focus on QLC Products - The tightening supply of TLC NAND reflects a strategic shift by major manufacturers towards higher-margin QLC products, which can store more data per unit [3]. - QLC NAND can achieve approximately 30% more storage capacity than TLC NAND on the same wafer area, making it more suitable for the large-capacity SSDs required by AI data centers [3].