History (1997): WW Shipments of Flash Grew 40% From $1,860 Million in 1995 to $2,611 Million in 1996

Analysts from In-Stat expect the flash market to grow at a CAGR of 20.1% over the next 5 years.

“Flash was the one bright spot in the memory market in 1996. WW shipments grew 40.3% from $1,860.2 million in 1995 to $2,610.6 million in 1996. This growth in dollars was fueled by units, as aggregate and individual ASPs took a real beating,” said Walt Lahti, manager of ln-Stat’s Memory Group.

“Aggregate ASP took a major hit in 1996 and is expected to drop again in 1997 and 1998. Recovery is expected to start in mid to late 1999, with 2000 showing an increase,” he added.

The new report Flash 1997 Market Analysis ($2,995) explains that if individual density ASPs did not change, the aggregate ASP would show positive growth. When the aggregate ASP value drops, it means that individual density ASPs fell faster than the average density increased. In 1996, the learning curve and excess capacity outweighed the industry’s ability to provide more bits per unit, so ASPs tanked.

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 117 on October 1997 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.