[Core News] Copper Foil Substrate Price Increases Again, Major NAND Flash Memory Production Capacity Reduced

Resonac, a major copper foil substrate manufacturer, initiated a price increase, with an increase of more than 30%

On January 16, Resonac (formerly Showa Denko), a major Japanese semiconductor materials manufacturer, announced that starting from March 1, 2026, it will increase the prices of its entire range of copper-clad laminates (CCL) and adhesive films (Prepreg) by more than 30%.Resonac stated that the price increase is mainly due to the sharp rise in the prices of raw materials such as copper foil and glass fiber cloth due to supply and demand, coupled with rising labor and transportation costs. Although cost control measures have been taken, prices have to be adjusted to ensure stable supply and technology research and development.In addition, at the end of last year, Kingboard Group took the lead in raising the price of CCL for new orders by 10%, mainly due to rising copper prices and tight supply of glass cloth.

2. Morgan Stanley predicts: DDR4 price may increase by 50% in the first quarter

Morgan Stanley's research report pointed out that the gap between supply and demand of traditional memory chips continues to expand, and the industry will usher in a super cycle from the second quarter of 2025 to 2026, with the supply of products such as DDR4, DDR3, NOR Flash and SLC/MLC NAND intensifying.The report shows that advanced process storage (DDR5, HBM) production capacity demand is strong, squeezing mature process production capacity; leading companies are actively purchasing DDR4 in January 2026. Due to supply constraints, prices may increase by 50% in the first quarter, and the increase will continue into the second quarter; the transfer of production capacity to DDR4 has led to a serious shortage of high-density DDR3, driving the performance growth of related suppliers.In addition, NOR Flash quotations are expected to increase by 20%-30% in the first quarter, and the increase may continue until the second half of 2026.

3. Micron acquires Power Semiconductor P5 fab for US$1.8 billion to expand DRAM production

On January 17, local time, Micron announced that it had signed an exclusive letter of intent to acquire Power Semiconductor's P5 wafer manufacturing plant in Tongluo, Miaoli County for US$1.8 billion, including a 300,000-square-foot 300mm wafer fab clean room. The two parties also agreed to establish a long-term DRAM advanced packaging wafer foundry partnership.The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026. After the transaction, Micron will take over the ownership and control of the factory, equip and expand DRAM production in stages, and is expected to achieve considerable DRAM wafer production in the second half of 2027.

4. Samsung and SK Hynix reduce NAND wafer production in 2026

According to Omdia data, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for more than 60% of global NAND production capacity, will reduce the production of NAND flash wafers in 2026, further exacerbating supply shortages.Among them, Samsung plans to invest 4.68 million NAND wafers this year, a reduction from 4.9 million wafers in 2025; SK Hynix's production capacity this year is 1.7 million wafers, a reduction from 1.9 million wafers in 2025. The combined production capacity of the two companies has dropped by approximately 6.2%.It is reported that due to serious losses in the last cycle, the two companies have adopted a profit maximization strategy in the NAND field and have no plans to significantly expand production.

5. SK Hynix completes DRAM process upgrade at Wuxi plant

SK Hynix's Wuxi plant has upgraded all DRAM process nodes from 1z nm to 1a nm, and about 90% of the 180,000-190,000 12-inch wafers produced per month have completed the switch.The factory is responsible for 30%-40% of SK Hynix's global DRAM production. After the process upgrade, single-wafer output increased, chip performance improved and power consumption was reduced.Affected by the export control of EUV equipment in the United States, SK Hynix adopted a segmented manufacturing model, placing key steps requiring extreme ultraviolet lithography in South Korea, and then shipped the wafers back to Wuxi to complete the subsequent process, bypassing restrictions.Currently, South Korea's Icheon M14 and M16 factories are promoting more advanced 1c nm and HBM high-end products.

6. Micro Semiconductor will launch the first non-volatile memory chip

China Micro Semiconductor announced that the company will soon launch the first low-power SPI NOR Flash chip with a 4M bit capacity to fill its product gap in the Flash field.This product has the characteristics of low cost, low power consumption, high-speed reading and writing, and no loss when power is lost. It is suitable for small storage demand scenarios. It is an important achievement of the company's MCU+ strategy. It will enrich the product matrix, expand application scenarios, and have a positive impact on the company's future development.

7. Nanya Technology’s revenue will nearly double in 2025, and it plans to significantly increase capital expenditures

Taiwanese DRAM manufacturer Nanya Technology announced that its revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025 was NT$30.094 billion, a month-on-month increase of 60.3%. The quarterly DRAM average selling price (ASP) increased by more than 30% month-on-month, and sales scale increased by more than 10%. The gross profit margin reached 49.0%, a month-on-month increase of 30.5 percentage points, and the operating profit margin reached 39.1%, a month-on-month increase of 33.1 percentage points.For the whole year of 2025, Nanya Technology's revenue was NT$66.587 billion, a year-on-year increase of 95.1%. Both operating gross profit margin and operating net profit margin turned positive. DRAM ASP increased by 30% year-on-year, and shipment scale increased by 50% year-on-year.The company expects capital expenditures in 2026 to be approximately NT$50 billion, a significant increase from the actual expenditure of NT$13.4 billion in 2025.

8. Research: China’s smartphone shipments will drop slightly by 0.5% in 2025