The global electronic components supply chain is undergoing unprecedented change, bringing both challenges and opportunities. Electronics Supply Chain Insights offers market analysis, trend forecasts, and key product highlights to help you navigate the shifts with confidence.

2024 Top 4 Distributors Confirmed: WT Microelectronics Takes the Lead, WPG Holdings Ranks Third

The rankings for the top four global electronic component distributors in 2024 have been confirmed. WT secured the top position with an annual revenue of 959.432 billion NTD (approximately 30.165 billion USD), marking a 61.38% year-over-year (YoY) growth. Arrow Electronics ranked second, while WPG secured third place with a revenue of 880.552 billion NTD (approximately 27.685 billion USD), reflecting a YoY growth of 31.06%. Avnet ranked fourth, with annual revenue of 22.484 billion USD, down 12.21% YoY.While Arrow Electronics and Avnet in the U.S. experienced negative growth (though their declines narrowed quarter by quarter), Taiwan-based WPG and WT maintained over 25% growth. The key growth driver in 2024 was AI, with WT reporting a substantial contribution from its big data center and server business. In the Asia-Pacific region, particularly Greater China, publicly listed distributors saw strong performance, though the growth trend is beginning to slow.

ADI Revokes WT’s Distribution Rights

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) has officially revoked WT’distribution rights. According to WT’s statement, ADI has set July 26, 2025, as the final date for delivering ADI products to customers, with all purchase orders required to be placed by late April. WT will closely communicate with customers to ensure a smooth supply transition. WT had previously lost its Texas Instruments (TI) distribution rights, and this presents another challenge for the company. Currently, ADI’s only authorized distributors in mainland China are CETC and MACNICA.

SanDisk and Micron to Increase NAND flash memory Prices by Over 10% Starting April 1

Reports indicate that U.S. memory giants Micron and SanDisk (a Western Digital brand) will increase NAND storage prices by over 10%, effective from April 1. SanDisk has already notified its customers and channel partners of the price adjustment. The company cited continuous changes in supply and demand in the storage industry as reasons for the increase. It anticipates that the industry will soon face a supply shortage, exacerbated by recent tariff policies that affect supply chains and raise operational costs. The price increase will apply to all products for distributors and end customers. Additionally, SanDisk emphasized that its capacity to handle unplanned demand and orders is limited, which may result in extended lead times for such orders.

Fire Breaks Out at Panasonic Industrial’s Chitose Plant

On March 9, a fire broke out at Panasonic Industrial’s electronic components factory in Chitose, Hokkaido. The plant primarily manufactures multilayer ceramic chip varistors, multilayer NTC thermistors, multilayer chip power inductors, and HF series SMD-type varistors. Authorities reported that the fire originated from a furnace, and police and fire departments are investigating the cause. While some customers expressed concerns about supply disruptions, Panasonic has stated that production remains unaffected.

Onsemi Reportedly Considering Allegro Acquisition

Reports suggest that sensor IC supplier Allegro Microsystems may be a potential acquisition target for Onsemi (ON Semiconductor). In recent months, Onsemi has been working with advisors to explore the possibility of acquiring Allegro. While Allegro has not explicitly expressed willingness to sell, the company could attract interest from other semiconductor firms looking to strengthen their automotive capabilities.Allegro recently underwent a management change, with longtime executive Mike Doogue taking over as President and CEO, replacing Vineet Nargolwala, who had held the position for nearly three years. Allegro, a leader in motion control and energy-efficient power and sensing solutions, primarily serves the automotive, data center, and industrial markets. Its largest shareholder is Japan’s Sanken Electric Co., which holds a 32% stake.

Qualcomm Announces Another Major Acquisition

Qualcomm Technologies has announced the acquisition of Edge Impulse, a six-year-old edge AI technology company, to integrate its edge AI development platform. This move aims to strengthen Qualcomm’s capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), and to accelerate advancements in industrial automation, smart healthcare, and other intelligent applications. Founded in 2019 by Zach Shelby and Jan Jongboom, Edge Impulse has supported over 170,000 developers and 250,000 machine learning (ML) projects, simplifying ML development for edge devices. The acquisition is expected to fill a critical gap in Qualcomm’s edge AI capabilities, complementing its chipsets and software architecture, and enabling developers to rapidly deploy AI applications on low-power devices. The deal is expected to close within weeks, after which Qualcomm plans to offer more efficient AI development tools to accelerate IoT commercialization, improve operational efficiency, and enhance decision-making capabilities.

• TI's March demand remained stable compared to the first two months of 2023, with multiple customers accepting shorter lead times to obtain more competitive pricing. The market is showing increased PPV opportunities, with most suppliers providing price support after securing orders. While facing overall market headwinds, TI demonstrates notable resilience in some key sectors，automotive shows growth momentum while industrial markets continue to experience persistent softness.
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• ADI terminated its distribution agreement with leading semiconductor distributor WT Microelectronics (WT) in March 2025, representing the culmination of its four-year channel consolidation strategy. Following multiple acquisitions, ADI has progressively streamlined its distribution network - from revoking Arrow's demand creation privileges to now cutting ties with WT, with each move sending ripples through the global semiconductor distribution market. Currently, only Arrow, Macnica, and CECPORT remain authorized distributors.
• For ADI, this move may deliver short-term margin improvement through reduced channel costs and enhanced supply chain responsiveness. Long-term benefits include shortened transaction cycles and direct customer data access, enabling better customized services and rapid product iteration.
• Due to the termination of the distributorship of WT Microelectronics, certain part numbers of ADI have triggered price increases, which have had a certain impact on the demand for PPV order scheduling.
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• In March, the shortage situation of NXP products showed a relatively scattered characteristic, with the out-of-stock items sporadically distributed across various categories rather than being concentrated in a specific area.
• NXP's March demand remained largely unchanged from February, reflecting overall weak market conditions. For general-purpose components, prices have stabilized to normal levels following previous market adjustments.
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• In March, Intel's server product series CPUs have experienced supply tightness and extended lead times due to capacity adjustments by the original Manufacturer, particularly affecting the third and fourth series CPUs. Current in-demand models include 4314, 4316, 6326, 6338, and 6342, which are not only in short supply but also seeing continuous price increases. The Intel PC CPU market has shown a trend of "initial stability followed by decline, with oscillations gradually stabilizing." The 12th/13th/14th-generation tray CPUs have maintained market popularity due to their cost-performance ratio, with the 12400 experiencing an unusual minor increase. Meanwhile, mainstream models such as the 12100F and 13400 have seen price reductions. The demand side is showing a gradual recovery trend, especially with internet cafes and commercial markets emerging as significant growth points.
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• In March, Microchip's demand remained essentially flat compared to February, continuing in a slump. The popular series for the month centered on select Atmel MCUs and certain USB interface chips. Meanwhile, market inventory levels remain relatively ample, with a slow pace of inventory digestion.
• Due to insufficient market demand in automotive and consumer devices, Microchip's performance continues to deteriorate, with inventory levels remaining high. On March 21, Microchip announced that it will sell its wafer fabrication plant located in Tempe, Arizona ("Fab 2"). Microchip's decision will be seen as a sign of the semiconductor industry's shift from "capacity expansion" to "capacity optimization."
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• Infineon's analog and memory devices have stable prices with shorter lead times; discrete devices also see stable lead times and prices.
• Most of Infineon's automotive-grade materials have returned to normal pricing, with lead times shortened to around 20 weeks.
• Components for AI-concept computers and servers are somewhat tight. The IR\PXE series is particularly popular, which may lead to extended lead times for server power-related models and order scheduling.
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• ST Microelectronics expects its Q1 2025 revenue to decline year-over-year by 15%-18%, mainly due to weak demand in consumer electronics and industrial sectors, while automotive chip revenue maintains positive year-over-year growth.
• Demand in industrial and consumer electronics remains weak, but automotive chip demand stays resilient, with channel inventory levels declining.
• Lead time for automotive-grade SiC modules has been shortened to 40 weeks. The 8-inch wafer fab in collaboration with San'an Optoelectronics is expected to start production in Q4 2025 and reach full capacity by 2028, solidifying its competitive edge in the new energy market.
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• Recent customer inquiries have primarily focused on: 1. CAT series 2. MBR series 3. Transistors; MOSFETs; Switches.
• Onsemi demand is weak, with market inversion and relatively stable order lead times; PPV opportunities are a key focus.
• The demand for transistors and MOSFETs is increasing, while the inventory of filter distributors is decreasing, yet the market supply remains relatively sufficient.
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• In March, Broadcom's demand continued to reflect a structural trend, with demand mainly concentrated in the BCM5 and SX series.
• In the traditional communications sector, Broadcom is currently experiencing a situation of oversupply, with an imbalance in market supply and demand leading to persistent price inversion. In the short term, it is unlikely that the market will return to normal price levels. Despite this, delivery lead times have not shortened, which has slowed the digestion of market inventory. However, as inventory is gradually consumed, the prices of some part numbers have begun to show signs of gradual recovery, and the market is slowly moving towards a more balanced direction.
• In the AI field, the emergence of Deepseek has had a significant ripple effect. Major internet companies have raised their expectations for AI-related products and services, which has directly led to a sharp increase in market demand. As a result, the PCI-E Switch, as an important supporting component, has also seen a surge in market demand. The market response has remained strong, with prices staying high and showing no signs of decline, reflecting the strong demand for related hardware in the current AI market and the relatively tight supply situation.
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• Driven by the demand for AI servers, MLCC demand has increased. The number of MLCCs required for AI servers is eight times that of traditional servers, driving significant growth in orders for Murata. It is projected that AI-related MLCC demand will double year-over-year in 2025.
• Consumer demand, such as for smartphones and PCs, has not fully recovered, slowing the recovery of standard MLCC prices.
• Automotive-grade MLCC demand is growing steadily, fitting for ADAS and intelligent cockpit modules, but faces competition from TDK, Taiyo Yuden, and others.
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DRAM Market Trends Stabilize; LOW POWER DRAM Demand Remains Stable with Price Hikes, HBM Supply to Mainland China Halts

As of March, the market is gradually recovering, with inventory levels returning to a healthy state and supply-demand reaching equilibrium. In the spot DRAM chip market, prices for both DDR3 and DDR4 have risen, with DDR4 in particular returning to normal levels. Notably, Samsung’s DDR4 4Gb/8Gb and SK Hynix’s 8Gb/16Gb have seen significant price increases, likely driven by Q1 factory customer procurement and deliberate supply control by manufacturers to push up market prices, resulting in slightly tighter supply. Following this trend, Micron also implemented measures such as supply restrictions and order holds, leading to price adjustments. Additionally, Micron has discontinued certain LPDDR4 promotional pricing from last year, fueling strong customer demand.In this market environment, Nanya and Winbond prices have remained stable without significant fluctuations. LOW POWER DRAM demand remains steady, with prices edging higher, while HBM and standard DRAM market conditions are completely polarized. By 2025, HBM3e will inevitably replace HBM3 as the mainstream product, with the three major manufacturers focusing resources on achieving stable mass production of high-value-added memory like HBM.

Samsung eMMC Prices Continue to Soar, Kioxia Follows Suit; Macronix and Winbond NOR Flash Show Weakness with Slight Price Declines

In the eMMC Flash segment, prices have surged again due to manufacturers' supply control, with shortages and price hikes occurring simultaneously. Although Samsung's last-buy date is set for June 2025, the market still shows active hoarding by distributors, resulting in heated trading and significant price increases. Following Samsung's upward trend, Kioxia has also seen rising demand, with faster spot market turnover and substantial price adjustments. Many mainstream models are already out of stock, leading to extended lead times. SanDisk has announced a price increase of over 10% for its products (including eMMC) effective April 1, with potential further adjustments, making it advisable to secure orders promptly to mitigate cost increases and delivery delays. Q2 prices are expected to continue rising, warranting close monitoring.In the NOR Flash market, Macronix prices remain largely stable, with room for negotiation based on actual order volumes. Winbond prices have experienced a slight decline amid ample supply, presenting opportunities for favorable pricing on large-quantity orders.

SSD

As manufacturers implement supply controls, triggering price increases and resource tightening, channel vendors have universally followed suit in raising prices, with SATA SSD products showing the most significant hikes. Stimulated by expectations of continued price growth, the market has developed a "buy-in-advance" psychology, leading to a sharp increase in spot inquiries and even panic stockpiling for certain products. While channel customers generally maintain moderate inventory levels, many purchasers have adopted a wait-and-see approach due to rapid price escalation. Notably, with certain resources facing shortages and channel vendors' delivery timelines concentrated in April and May, continued supply restrictions by manufacturers may expose some distributors to contractual default risks. Concurrently, sustained upstream cost increases have caused price inversions for some channel products, further amplifying storage market price inflation. Beyond manufacturer production controls, the explosive growth in computing power demand driven by AI development is dramatically accelerating storage capacity requirements, bringing forward the advent of the high-capacity era. Currently in enterprise applications, 32TB SSDs have achieved volume production, while demand for 64TB and 128TB solutions growing rapidly.

HDD

Current HDD demand is highly concentrated in high-capacity models such as 16TB, 18TB, 20TB, and 24TB, The primary drivers include the expansion of data centers and the surging demand for AI training data storage. Currently, some stockists still hold inventory with a price advantage, but once these stocks are sold out, prices for reordering are expected to rise. Our company is accelerating bulk purchases to lock in cost advantages and sincerely invites high-quality suppliers to provide both spot and futures resources to jointly seize short-term market opportunities.

Server CPU

Intel's server CPU lineup has recently faced supply tightness and extended lead times for its third and fourth series processors due to capacity adjustments by the manufacturers. The current in-demand models include 4314, 4316, 6326, 6338, and 6342, which are not only in short supply but also experiencing continuous price increases. Additionally, Sapphire Rapids SKUs have entered EOL (End-of-Life) status with final orders accepted through September 2025, while delivery windows have expanded from 2-3 weeks to 3-5 weeks due to unanticipated demand spikes. Meanwhile, demand for AMD's 5th generation Turin series server CPUs are seeing surging demand across the market but face persistent supply limitations for high-performance SKUs under allocation. In contrast, the supply level of the 3rd generation Milan series and 4th generation Genoa series remains stable, meeting current market demands and maintaining strong market competitiveness.

Desktop CPU

Intel's Desktop CPU market in March exhibited a "steady-then-decline, eventually stabilizing" trend. Early month prices remained relatively stable, with 12th/13th/14th-gen tray CPUs maintaining strong market appeal due to their competitive price-performance ratio, although U200 tray processors continued to hit price bottoms while the 12400 saw an unusual slight price increase. Mid-month witnessed a gradual price decline across the board, with mainstream models like the 12100F and 13400 experiencing price drops, while recovering demand from internet cafes prompted Intel to intensify market monitoring. Late month saw significant weekly price volatility triggered by an external audit incident, but the market quickly corrected itself to previous levels, ultimately resulting in narrowed price fluctuations and robust mid-to-low-end product movement for the month. Overall, Intel maintained strong competitiveness in the mid-to-low-end segment through flexible commercial policies and superior price-performance products, with demand showing gradual recovery, particularly in internet cafe and commercial markets which emerged as key growth drivers. AMD's Desktop CPU market in March demonstrated balanced supply-demand growth with structural variations: Early month saw sufficient inventory of core models, with the X3D series effectively driving sales growth through price reductions, followed by sustained strong demand from online channels and internet cafes leading to shortages of 97X/96X mainstream models, while the 9950X3D became a breakout success through livestream and e-commerce channels. The premium X870 series paired with B850 motherboards firmly captured the enthusiast market, while the B650 platform established ecosystem advantages in internet cafe and new retail scenarios through the X3D series, creating a tiered growth pattern of "stable high-end, explosive mid-range, and pressured entry-level." Despite relatively weaker entry-level movement, surging B850 platform shipments boosted overall ecosystem vitality, with channel partners significantly increasing their expectations for AMD's market share growth amid intensifying annual competition.

GPU

The graphics card market in March exhibited distinct characteristics of supply-demand competition coupled with new product delays. NVIDIA's RTX 40 series has entered its inventory clearance phase, demonstrating tiered price reductions - the RTX 4060 Ti experienced three consecutive weeks of price declines before channel partners implemented volume controls to stabilize prices, while the RTX 4060 showed minor price exploration before stabilizing, reflecting manufacturers' strategic balance between remaining inventory management and market anticipation. The emerging RTX 50 series displays structural divergence: the RTX 5080 and 5070 Ti have seen significant price corrections toward rational ranges as supply improves, whereas the RTX 5070 remains supply-constrained due to slower production ramp-up at contract manufacturers, particularly evident in accumulating backorders from internet cafe operators, with supply normalization expected by month-end. AMD's RX 9070 series continues to command market premiums through controlled scarcity, though its AIB partners' e-commerce channel prioritization has worsened offline availability. Market observers note growing concerns as NVIDIA's repeated postponements of the RTX 5060 launch, combined with the ongoing RTX 40 series clearance, may create product availability gaps. Channel strategies remain bifurcated, requiring accelerated turnover for high-end models to prevent oversupply pressures while maintaining premium pricing for constrained SKUs, with the delayed product road map potentially creating short-term arbitrage opportunities.

Downstream Inventory Digesting Smoothly; 2Q25 DRAM Price Decline Expected to Narrow

According to TrendForce research, downstream brand manufacturers' early shipments due to global uncertainties in 1Q25 accelerated DRAM inventory digestion. Conventional DRAM prices in 2Q25 are projected to see narrowed declines of 0-5% QoQ, while including HBM (with HBM3e 12hi volume ramp) would drive 3-8% quarterly price growth. In PC DRAM, OEMs' accelerated inventory clearance may lead to increased 2Q procurement, with prices potentially stabilizing amid Samsung/SK hynix's capacity strategies. Server DRAM will see notable shipment growth from CSP purchases, with DDR5 prices bottoming out and DDR4 declines narrowing despite HBM demand pressure and production shift bottlenecks, keeping overall pricing flat QoQ. Mobile DRAM shows diverging trends: LPDDR5X demand boosts prices (+QoQ) while LPDDR4X declines moderate. Graphics DRAM sees GDDR7 prices stabilizing/slightly declining and GDDR6 drops slowing. Consumer DRAM rebounds with new project demand - DDR4 contract prices rising QoQ, DDR3 remaining stable, driving quarterly shipment recovery.

Source：DRAMeXchange

Production Cuts Take Effect and Buyers Rebuild Inventory, Driving 2Q25 NAND Flash Price Recovery

According to TrendForce research, the production reduction by NAND Flash manufacturers since Q4 2024 has begun to show results. Combined with consumer electronics brands' early production driving demand and inventory rebuilding in PC, smartphone, and data center sectors, Q2 2025 NAND Flash prices are expected to stabilize and rebound. Client SSD prices, after three quarters of inventory adjustment, are projected to increase 3-8% quarter-over-quarter due to OEMs' early production creating restocking demand, stimulated by Windows 10 end-of-support, next-generation CPU replacement cycles, and DeepSeek effects, with supply-demand balance achieved through manufacturers' production cuts and supply adjustments. For Enterprise SSD, while China's demand for high-performance storage solutions surges, North American demand shows polarization; after some manufacturers' inventory clearance caused over 20% quarterly price drops in Q1, Q2 prices are expected to remain flat as suppliers adjust capacity and some server customers advance orders. eMMC and UFS prices will stay flat quarter-over-quarter amid stable demand and growing shipments of related products. NAND Flash wafer contract prices are forecast to rise 10-15% quarter-over-quarter due to manufacturers' production cuts and demand recovery.

Source：DRAMeXchange

Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) Reportedly Plans Over 10% Price Hike in April

Industry sources indicate that following price increase announcements from SanDisk and Micron, YMTC is also preparing to raise prices. According to China Flash Market reports, YMTC's retail brand ZHITAI will implement over 10% price increases for channel distributors starting April. Early signs of price hikes appeared in February's spot market, with small-capacity eMMC and certain channel SSD prices already rising. Since 2024, weak NAND pricing and sluggish end-demand recovery prompted major manufacturers like Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung to restart production cuts. SanDisk has confirmed over 10% NAND price increases effective April 1, while Micron is demanding similar hikes. TrendForce reports suggest Samsung and SK Hynix may also raise NAND quotes in April. Phison Electronics Chairman K.S. Pua predicts continued NAND Flash price increases through Q3 2024. With normalized end-market inventories, improving supply-demand balance is driving a clear price recovery trend.

Source：esmchina.com

Micron Raises HBM Total Market Size Forecast to $35 Billion, Plans Continued HBM Capacity Expansion

Micron Technology has released its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025. The company reported revenues of $8.053 billion, marking an 8% sequential decline and a 38% year-over-year increase. Data center revenues tripled year-over-year. DRAM accounted for 76% of total revenues, while NAND represented 23%. Revenues across different business units showed varied changes. At the end of the quarter, Micron held $9 billion in inventory, with 158 days of inventory on hand. For fiscal year 2025, Micron plans capital expenditures of approximately $14 billion, with the majority allocated to HBM business. Technologically, Micron leads with its 1-beta DRAM and G9 NAND process technologies, which offer significant performance improvements. The company is optimistic about the HBM market, projecting the total HBM market size to exceed $35 billion by 2025. Micron expects its HBM market share in Q4 2025 to match the overall DRAM supply share and plans to begin mass production of HBM4 in 2026. Micron's products are widely deployed across various application markets, including data centers, PCs, mobile, automotive, and industrial sectors. Looking ahead, Micron anticipates that DRAM and NAND supply growth rates in 2025 will lag behind industry demand, leading to reduced inventory days. The company expects positive bit shipments of DRAM and NAND in the third quarter, with record revenues and gross margins projected to be between 35.5% and 37.5%.

Source: China Flash Market