Western Digital has lost 6.5 exabytes (6.5 billion gigabytes) of NAND chips due to pollution in the plants where flash memory are manufactured, which is expected to affect the prices of these computer components.
The contamination problem was discovered at the end of January in two Kioxia factories, a Western Digital manufacturer partner, who stated in a statement that the cause is “an impurity-containing component.”
According to Western Digital in another statement, this component is employed in the production process of BiCS 3D NAND flash memory and has an impact of at least 6.5 exabytes, which will impair the availability of this type of memory.
Kioxia, for one, has stated that “it is not envisaged that the shipment of 2D NAND flash memory,” which is also manufactured in its facilities, will be impacted.
Although the two businesses are striving to remedy the matter as quickly as possible, the problem with flash memory manufacture could affect costs in the coming months. According to the consultancy TrendForce, prices could rise between 5% and 10% in the second quarter.