Amble Electronics

Electronics Component Sector Shows Robust Optimisim for H2 2025 as Expectations Index Signals Strong Rebound

According to the latest industry survey by ECIA, optimism regarding electronic component sales has been maintained throughout the third quarter of 2025 and is expected to extend into the fourth quarter. Although the overall index declined from 121.6 in July to 113.2 in August, falling short of the 127.5 forecast, respondents widely anticipate a strong rebound in September, with the average expectation score reaching a high of 130.2.

Among specific product categories, passive components and electromechanical components demonstrated the most notable performance, with their August indices reaching 116.1 and 115.0 respectively, while the semiconductor category registered 108.3. The end-market index slightly outpaced the product categories, reflecting positive overall market sentiment.

Year-on-year sales sentiment appears stronger. The product index reached 142.4 and 141.1 in June and August respectively, and jumped to 151.0 in July. End markets also showed steady performance compared to the same period last year, with the three-month average index ranging between 140.0 and 145.2.

As the industry transitions from the third to the fourth quarter, optimism persists. Approximately 60% of respondents hold a positive outlook for sales in both quarters, while only about 6-7% anticipate a decline. Electromechanical components continue to lead, and semiconductors are projected to see significant improvement in the fourth quarter. Despite varying views on the U.S. economy, the industry overall expects stable growth through the end of 2025.

Across different channels, manufacturer representatives continue to exhibit the strongest sales confidence across all component categories. Distributor confidence also improved notably in August, gradually approaching the overall average. Manufacturers, however, are slightly more cautious and have moderated their expectations for September.

Within end markets, industrial electronics and avionics/military/space sectors maintained their leading positions, with July indices of 129.6 and 141.3 respectively. Consumer electronics was the only segment below the 100 threshold, at just 97.2. All end markets are projected to exceed 100 in August.

Regarding delivery lead times, the market environment remains generally stable. The proportion of respondents reporting extended delivery cycles decreased slightly from 23% in July to 20% in August. Less than 1% reported shorter cycles, while approximately 80% indicated that market conditions have remained stable.

Global Semiconductor Market Set for Robust Expansion, 2025 Revenue Nears $800 Billion with 17.6% Growth

According to the latest IDC report, the global semiconductor market is projected to approach $800 billion in 2025, representing a 17.6% year-on-year increase, with the forecast being revised upward from the previous 15.5%. This accelerated growth is primarily fueled by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence technologies.

The report indicates sustained strong demand for data center chips, which is simultaneously driving gradual recovery in both the automotive and industrial sectors. Revenue from computing chips is expected to surge by 36% this year, reaching $349 billion, with a projected five-year compound annual growth rate of 12%. The semiconductor industry is poised to witness its first company achieving annual revenue exceeding $200 billion, underscoring the substantial momentum that AI technology is generating across the sector.

In networking equipment, demand continues to grow for high-capacity Ethernet switches, smart network interface cards, and data processing units, while optical interconnect technology has emerged as a crucial solution for handling AI workloads. The automotive chip market has begun recovering after two years of downturn, with inventory levels in China gradually normalizing. The industrial semiconductor market is also rebounding, primarily driven by military, aerospace, manufacturing, and edge AI applications.

Smartphones are incorporating increasing semiconductor content, with NPUs and GPUs becoming standard components for enabling on-device AI capabilities. IDC anticipates 5% growth in the wireless chip market for 2025 but cautions that tariffs and trade tensions could impact market dynamics in 2026.

IDC analysts note that while the strong growth trend will continue through 2025, markets such as automotive and industrial remain in the early stages of recovery. The semiconductor industry is entering a new era of expansion, largely propelled by data center infrastructure development supporting AI workloads. The global semiconductor market is expected to reach the $1 trillion milestone by 2028, nearly two years ahead of conventional market expectations.

Global Top 10 Foundries Post Record $41.7B Q2 Revenue as TSMC's Market Share Hits 70.2%

According to the latest TrendForce report, the combined revenue of the world's top ten semiconductor foundries surpassed $41.7 billion in the second quarter of 2025, marking a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14.6% and setting a new historical high. This growth was primarily driven by early stockpiling activities spurred by consumer subsidy programs in China, coupled with robust demand for new smartphone, notebook/PC, and server products.

TSMC reported Q2 revenue of $30.24 billion, an 18.5% increase from the previous quarter, raising its market share to 70.2% and solidifying its leading position in the industry. Samsung ranked second with revenue of $3.16 billion, up 9.2% quarter-on-quarter, accounting for 7.3% of the market. SMIC saw a slight revenue decline to $2.21 billion, down 1.7% from the prior quarter, with a 5.1% market share, placing it third.

UMC and GlobalFoundries ranked fourth and fifth, with revenues of $1.9 billion and $1.69 billion, up 8.2% and 6.5% quarter-on-quarter, and market shares of 4.4% and 3.9%, respectively. Huahong Group reported combined revenue of $1.06 billion, a 5% increase from the previous quarter, maintaining sixth place with a 2.5% market share.

Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) recorded a 4.3% revenue growth to $380 million, ranking seventh. Tower Semiconductor followed with $370 million, up 3.9%, in eighth place. Nexchip reported revenue of $360 million, a near 3% increase, securing the ninth position. Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) rounded out the top ten with revenue of $350 million, a 5.4% rise.

The report notes that as the industry enters the traditional peak season for new product preparations in the third quarter, continued demand for high-priced advanced process wafers and mature-process peripheral ICs is expected to further drive quarterly growth in both capacity utilization and overall revenue.

DRAM Prices Projected to Rise 13-18% in Q4 2025 as Server Demand Intensifies

According to the latest TrendForce research, the DRAM market in the fourth quarter of 2025 is being shaped by major suppliers prioritizing advanced process capacity for high-end server DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which in turn is limiting production availability for PC, mobile device, and consumer electronics applications. This shift is driving notable price increases for products manufactured using older processes. Overall conventional DRAM prices are expected to rise by 8–13% quarter-on-quarter. When HBM is included, the total price increase expands to a range of 13–18%.

In the PC DRAM segment, although seasonal promotions and shipment momentum are expected to slow in the fourth quarter, and OEMs are likely to reduce overall shipments, supply constraints for both PC DDR5 and DDR4 remain due to suppliers actively shifting production capacity toward server DDR5. As a result, PC DRAM prices are still projected to experience a modest increase. In the server DRAM market, demand for DDR5 continues to strengthen, driven by optimistic procurement expectations for 2026 from U.S. and Chinese cloud service providers, with some U.S. buyers planning to advance purchases to the fourth quarter. Despite ongoing capacity adjustments by suppliers, production challenges at certain manufacturers and the prioritization of HBM4 capacity for 2026 may introduce supply uncertainties, supporting further price increases. At the same time, sustained procurement interest in server DDR4 is expected to lead to considerable price growth.

In the mobile DRAM segment, LPDDR4X—commonly used in mid- to low-tier smartphones—is facing intensified supply constraints as memory suppliers continue to reduce output. In response, smartphone brands are actively stockpiling to avoid potential shortages, worsening the supply-demand imbalance. Prices for LPDDR4X are forecast to rise by more than 10% in the fourth quarter. While LPDDR5X, used in premium smartphones and other applications, is not yet in short supply, its pricing is also expected to increase due to limited production availability and supplier pricing strategies.

For graphics DRAM, sustained procurement of GDDR7—driven by PC restocking and market anticipation for NVIDIA’s RTX 6000 series—is combining with supplier expectations of a supply shortfall to push price increases higher than in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, GDDR6, which remains in use in previous-generation graphics cards, is also seeing constrained supply, and its price growth is expected to outpace that of GDDR7.

In the consumer DRAM segment, major suppliers are maintaining a firm stance on limited DDR4 supply and higher pricing. However, after prices nearly doubled in the third quarter, buyer enthusiasm has moderated, leading to a more gradual price increase in the fourth quarter. For DDR3, continued demand for early inventory buildup, coupled with capacity constraints and rapid inventory depletion, is expected to keep prices on an upward trend.

Industry leaders Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology have successively announced price adjustment plans. Samsung expects to increase DRAM product prices by 15% to 30% and NAND flash prices by 5% to 10% in the fourth quarter. Micron has comprehensively raised memory product prices by 20% to 30% and suspended quotations and agreement pricing for some products for one week to reassess market supply and demand conditions.

This wave of price increases primarily stems from a structural supply-demand imbalance. On the supply side, memory chip manufacturers are gradually shifting traditional DRAM capacity to newer, higher-margin products like DDR5 and HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory), while successively cutting production or even discontinuing older-generation chips such as DDR4 and LPDDR4X. This has led to continuously tightening market supply. For instance, DDR4 prices surged 50% in July alone, even creating a price inversion where DDR4 temporarily exceeded DDR5 pricing.

On the demand side, a convergence of growth across multiple sectors is evident. The dense launch of new smartphone and AI PC models in the fourth quarter is boosting consumer electronics demand for memory chips. Simultaneously, cloud service providers are significantly increasing capital expenditures to expand AI and data center businesses, actively procuring enterprise-grade solid-state drives (SSDs), which has created a noticeable supply gap in the NAND flash market. Both Citigroup and Morgan Stanley predict varying degrees of supply shortages for DRAM and NAND in 2025, with the NAND shortfall potentially reaching as high as 8%.

Market data shows that the DRAM price index has risen 72% over the past six months. In the second quarter of 2025, NAND Flash wafer prices also increased by 10% to 15% quarter-on-quarter, while client SSD prices rose by 3% to 8%. This trend reflects a shift of memory resources from the consumer market towards the enterprise market.

Micron recently announced it will stop development of mobile NAND products, including UFS 5.0, and gradually exit the mobile storage market. This move may present new development opportunities for domestic memory manufacturers. The industry widely anticipates that with the continued expansion of AI applications and cloud infrastructure investment, the memory chip industry has entered a new price hike cycle, and enterprise storage prices are expected to continue their upward trend in the fourth quarter.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have decided to postpone plans to discontinue production of DDR4 memory until the end of 2026. Samsung, which originally intended to gradually phase out its 1z-node DDR4 production lines in 2025, will now continue manufacturing until December 2026. SK Hynix has similarly adjusted its production capacity plans at its Wuxi manufacturing base, confirming that it will continue to expand DDR4 supply.

This adjustment is primarily driven by the significant price inversion currently observed in the DDR4 market. According to TrendForce data, since June 2024, the spot price of 16Gb DDR4 has consistently exceeded that of comparable DDR5 products. As of the end of August, the average price of DDR4 had risen to $8.59, while DDR5 stood at $6.17, with the price gap continuing to widen.

Supply shortages are the main cause of this pricing anomaly. Early in 2024, the three major memory manufacturers had planned to reduce DDR4 production capacity. However, with the surge in demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which consumes approximately three times more wafer-level input per die than standard DRAM, significant production resources have been redirected to HBM, substantially squeezing DDR4 supply. At the same time, industries such as industrial control, communication infrastructure, and certain server segments continue to exhibit rigid demand for DDR4, further exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance.

Although DDR4 production has been extended due to short-term pricing and demand dynamics, the industry widely acknowledges that the technological transition toward DDR5 remains an irreversible trend, and it is expected to gradually become the mainstream solution in the future.

Nvidia's New China-Specific AI Chip B30A Priced Up to $24,000, Offers 80% of Original Performance

According to informed sources, Chinese tech companies such as Alibaba and ByteDance are closely monitoring Nvidia's planned launch of the new AI chip B30A for the Chinese market. Based on the Blackwell architecture, the chip is expected to be priced between $20,000 and $24,000—approximately twice the price of the currently available H20 model—pending U.S. export approval.

The B30A is likely a modified single-chip version based on the Blackwell B300A, manufactured using TSMC's 4nm process and CoWoS-L advanced packaging. It is equipped with 144GB of HBM3E memory and has a power consumption of 600W. Previously disclosed information indicates that its performance is approximately 80% of the original Blackwell GPU.

On the other hand, Chinese tech firms are actively promoting the adoption of domestic AI chips as alternatives, increasing procurement of local products from companies like Huawei and Cambricon. However, challenges remain in terms of software ecosystem support and supply capacity. Engineering and operations personnel from several Chinese tech companies noted that Nvidia's chips still hold a performance advantage over domestic alternatives.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently stated publicly that the company expects to bring Blackwell GPUs to the Chinese market. Sources indicate that Nvidia plans to provide B30A samples to Chinese customers for testing as early as September. Huang previously estimated that, given a competitive product offering, the Chinese market could represent a value of up to $50 billion.

Nvidia Dominates Discrete GPU Market with Record 94% Share Amid 27% Quarterly Shipment Growth

According to the latest report from Jon Peddie Research (JPR), global shipments of add-in board (AIB) discrete graphics cards surged by 27% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2025, while data center GPU shipments also rose by 4.7%. Nvidia continued to dominate the market with a record 94% share, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous quarter. AMD's share stood at 6%, down 2.1 percentage points year-on-year, while Intel's share was nearly negligible.

The report forecasts that the discrete graphics card market will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -5.4% between 2024 and 2028. Nevertheless, the total installed base of discrete GPUs is projected to reach 163 million units. Over the next five years, an estimated 87% of desktop computers will be equipped with discrete graphics cards, reflecting sustained demand for high-performance GPUs in gaming, professional applications, and AI.

Despite an expected contraction in the overall market, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards continue to sell strongly, driving record revenue for its gaming business. With the traditional peak sales season approaching in the fourth quarter, shipments are expected to see further growth.

The report also notes that recent U.S. tariff policies have triggered market fluctuations, leading to price increases and tight inventory for high-end graphics cards, though mid- to low-end products have maintained lower prices. This shift has prompted some consumers to advance their purchasing plans.

In the coming months, neither Nvidia nor AMD plans to launch entirely new GPU architectures. Nvidia's RTX 50 "Blackwell" and AMD's Radeon RX 9000 "RDNA 4" product lines have largely been rolled out. The only potential market variable may come from Intel's upcoming Battlemage series of graphics cards.

High-Capacity QLC SSDs Set for Explosive Growth in 2026 as AI Shifts to Inference

According to the latest research from TrendForce, as the focus of AI infrastructure shifts toward inference services, a severe shortage has emerged in nearline HDDs, with lead times drastically extending from several weeks to over 52 weeks. This supply gap is driving cloud service providers to turn to the NAND Flash supply chain, spurring a rapid increase in demand for nearline SSDs specifically designed for AI inference workloads.

In response, NAND Flash suppliers are accelerating the introduction of nearline QLC NAND Flash products and expanding production capacity, with utilization rates expected to gradually increase by 2026. Research indicates that compared to traditional HDDs, high-capacity QLC SSDs not only offer superior performance but can also reduce power consumption by approximately 30%. Although HDDs have long dominated the cold data storage market due to their cost-per-terabyte advantage, the expansion of AI inference applications is rapidly increasing demand for cold data storage.

Market price trends also reflect this shift. Buyers and sellers are expected to negotiate enterprise SSD contract prices upward by 5% to 10% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2025. Against this backdrop, with AI inference applications continuing to expand, TrendForce predicts that the enterprise SSD supply will tighten in 2026, potentially driving explosive growth in shipments of high-capacity QLC SSDs. This surge in demand could even extend into 2027.

According to the latest research from TrendForce, the NAND Flash market is undergoing a notable shift in the fourth quarter of 2025. Despite weak consumer demand initially pointing toward price stabilization, a spillover effect from HDD supply shortages has led to a surge of urgent orders for QLC enterprise SSDs. Combined with proactive supply-side signals such as SanDisk's announcement of a 10% price increase and Micron's temporary suspension of quotations, NAND Flash contract prices across various product categories are projected to rise by an average of 5-10% in the fourth quarter.

On the supply side, production cuts and inventory reduction efforts in the first half of the year have significantly improved the supply-demand balance in the NAND Flash market. Inventory levels at original manufacturers have decreased, alleviating pricing pressures. Major suppliers are directing capital expenditures toward advanced process upgrades and focusing capacity on high-margin products, thereby reducing price competition and providing support for price stability. Among these, QLC products have become a key focus for manufacturers due to their cost advantages and the growing demand for mass data storage driven by generative AI applications.

In terms of demand, although consumer purchasing power remains weak and channel inventories are still high, server OEMs and cloud service providers have actively cleared inventories in the first half of the year. Additionally, the ramp-up of NVIDIA's next-generation Blackwell chips in the second half of the year, coupled with tight HDD supply, has collectively driven a significant increase in demand for enterprise SSDs. These factors have contributed to an overall positive demand outlook for NAND Flash.

Client SSD inventories have decreased substantially following production cuts and strategic adjustments in the first half of the year, bringing market supply and demand closer to balance. High-capacity QLC products, in particular, remain in short supply. For enterprise SSDs, surging customer demand for products exceeding 120TB has reduced supplier inventories below healthy levels. With ongoing growth in demand for AI and general-purpose servers, prices for enterprise SSDs are expected to rise in the fourth quarter.

Demand for eMMC/UFS products remains relatively sluggish, and the segment faces intense competition from domestic manufacturers. High inventory levels among module makers could trigger price competition. Nevertheless, driven by original manufacturers' strong profit expectations, prices for these products are still projected to increase in the fourth quarter. NAND Flash wafer supply remains tight due to reduced output bits amid process transitions and the prioritization of capacity for high-margin product lines, further contributing to the price uptrend in the fourth quarter.

Strong AI and General-Purpose Server Demand Drive 12.7% Q2 Revenue Growth for Top 5 Enterprise SSD Makers

According to the latest TrendForce report, the enterprise solid-state drive market experienced significant demand growth in the second quarter of 2025, with the combined revenue of the top five branded manufacturers surpassing $5.1 billion—a quarter-on-quarter increase of 12.7%. This growth was primarily driven by the volume shipment of NVIDIA's Blackwell platform and the expansion of general-purpose server deployments by North American cloud service providers. At the same time, a shortage of DDR4 memory and extended lead times for controller IC substrates have led to widespread supply constraints across the market.

Samsung, with its extensive presence in the North American market and minimal impact from the DDR4 shortage, successfully captured a large volume of urgent orders. Its revenue remained stable at nearly $1.9 billion, maintaining its position as the market leader.

The SK Group saw a substantial revenue increase of 47.1%, reaching $1.46 billion and securing the second position. This growth was largely driven by a broad recovery in demand for high-capacity SSDs and a doubling of orders from key North American cloud service provider customers.

Micron reported revenue of over $780 million, a quarter-on-quarter decline of 7.9%, placing it third in the rankings. Delays in the validation and mass production schedules for some of its high-capacity products in the second half of the year may impact future revenue growth.

Kioxia delivered a standout performance, with revenue growing 32.5% quarter-on-quarter to $750 million. Its market share increased to 13.7%, solidifying its fourth-place position. The company's leadership in hybrid bonding technology has become a key advantage in supporting high-speed data transfer applications for AI.

SanDisk's revenue was approximately $210 million, down 8.2% from the previous quarter. The company is actively developing next-generation products and recently welcomed SK Hynix to its High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) research and development alliance, aiming to enhance its competitiveness through technological collaboration.

The report notes that future competition in the enterprise SSD market will revolve around key issues such as AI technology iteration, the rise of domestic Chinese manufacturers, and the balanced management of new and existing production capacities.

Anticipates double-digit YoY and QoQ growth for general-purpose MCUs in the second half of the year

ST management has released positive signals, projecting Q3 revenue to reach $3.17 billion, a quarter-on-quarter increase of approximately 15%. This indicates a clear recovery in the MCU and analog chip markets. Although demand for automotive-grade chips has not fully recovered, it has confirmed a bottom in Q1, with sequential growth expected to continue in Q3 and Q4. The industrial market is also showing signs of recovery. Multiple analysts point out that MCU and analog chip inventory digestion may bottom out in Q2 2025, with a recovery cycle of "volume growth and price stabilization" likely in the second half of the year. Attention is advised on the price elasticity of related product categories.

This month, Renesas' market focus remains highly concentrated on three high-growth sectors: automotive intelligence, industrial automation, and edge AI. Related products cover SoCs, MCUs, sensors, and interface solutions.

Driven by September's anti-dumping policies, prices for some of TI's analog IC models have increased accordingly. Combined with improved spot demand, market trading activity has noticeably picked up. However, price inversions still exist for certain models.

In terms of industrial recovery, 2025 will exhibit significant structural characteristics: the aerospace and defense business (accounting for 20% of industrial revenue) is being driven by global military spending growth, while demand for automatic test equipment (ATE) has surged due to testing needs for high-bandwidth memory and high-performance computing. This recovery is primarily supported by structural demand driven by automation, robotics, and AI.

Demand for expansion cards has risen significantly recently, particularly for model SX05-0B00-00, which is in short supply with prices increasing by 2–3 times. The price of SX03-0B00-00 has also risen from just over $20 to over $50, with inventory continuing to be depleted. Supply for models such as SX06 and SX09 is also tight. Among AI-related products, SS24 and SS26 prices continue to bottom out, while SS29 is in scarce supply and prices are expected to rise. Demand for traditional switches remains sluggish, and inventory digestion still requires time.

This month, overall demand is weak, with spot trading particularly quiet. Although there is sporadic spot demand for MCP and AT25640 series, order placement willingness is low. In terms of lead times, general-purpose 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs have shortened to 4 weeks, amplifiers and converters to 4–10 weeks, and module products to 12–20 weeks. The company's Q2 revenue decreased by 13.4% year-on-year, while order and inventory conditions are gradually improving.

This month, overall demand is stable, with shortages mainly concentrated in power management products and some discontinued materials. AI server-related models such as NCP3284 and NCP455 series are in tight supply. Demand for general-purpose diodes, transistors, and automotive-grade products is limited. In terms of lead times, low-voltage MOSFETs have extended to 42 weeks, diodes and transistors to 10-18 weeks, and sensors to 18-52 weeks. Overall lead times remain long.

Demand in automotive electronics (especially electric vehicles), data center/AI power supplies, and low-carbon applications remains strong, with continued growth in related power semiconductors. The traditional industrial sector is still affected by macroeconomic conditions and inventory adjustments in the short term. Although industry inventory is gradually returning to normal levels, inventory accumulation for some MCUs has slowed the destocking pace.

Spot demand has increased for automotive MCU S32K144 series, system basis chip MC33908, and interface IC TJA1042/1043 series.

Supply-demand dynamics for high-end FPGAs remain tight, highlighting structural demand

Although supply for some industrial-grade devices has eased, high-end Versal adaptive compute acceleration platforms and UltraScale+ series remain in tight supply. Orders from major customers in communication equipment and AI accelerator cards remain strong, reflecting robust core demand unaffected by short-term market fluctuations.