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SEJONG, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s solid-state drive (SSD) exports have undergone a dramatic regional shift, with the United States emerging as a dominant market while exports to China plummeted. The change reflects the ongoing global tech realignment fueled by geopolitical tensions and surging demand for advanced storage solutions.
U.S. Demand Surges Amid AI Boom
Data released by the Korea International Trade Association on Tuesday revealed that South Korea’s SSD exports reached $9.37 billion from January to November 2024, marking a 98 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.
The United States accounted for 47.8 percent of these exports, up from 39.1 percent in 2020. In contrast, the share of China and Hong Kong combined fell to 18.8 percent, a sharp drop from 34.4 percent four years ago. Mainland China’s share was hit particularly hard, plummeting from 23.2 percent to just 9.3 percent.
Industry analysts attribute the surge in U.S. demand to a boom in artificial intelligence applications. The construction of large-scale AI data centers by major American tech firms has driven interest in high-performance enterprise SSDs capable of handling massive data loads with speed and efficiency.
China’s Decline and Self-Reliance
The decline in exports to China has been linked to Beijing’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency. Chinese firms like Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC) are increasingly producing consumer SSDs domestically, diminishing reliance on South Korean imports.
YMTC has also been making technological advances, with experts noting that its SSDs now feature 160-layer 512GB NAND chips—a significant achievement despite U.S. sanctions.
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Geopolitical Shifts Reshaping the Market
The shifting trade landscape reflects broader global trends. U.S.-China trade tensions, combined with efforts by major IT manufacturers to diversify supply chains away from China, have driven up South Korea’s export share in the U.S. market.
“The surge in U.S. demand and the reduction in Chinese imports highlight the realignment of the global semiconductor supply chain,” an industry expert noted. “This is particularly evident in the memory sector, where AI-driven applications are accelerating demand.”
Future Outlook
South Korea’s SSDs, which are based on NAND flash memory, have been gaining traction as a critical component in both consumer and enterprise markets. While traditionally grouped with memory semiconductors, SSD exports are now tracked separately in trade statistics due to their growing significance.
As the tech rivalry between the U.S. and China continues to intensify, South Korea finds itself in a pivotal position, balancing rising opportunities in the U.S. with challenges in the Chinese market. For now, the SSD sector remains a bright spot in the nation’s broader semiconductor industry.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
