Sony has temporarily suspended orders for CFexpress and SD memory cards. It is unable to procure parts as shortages of NAND flash memory deepen due to demand from expanding AI data centres. The timing for resuming orders is undecided, and a solution is unlikely to emerge before the end of 2027, Techzin reported on March 30 local time.

The products Sony cannot take orders for are CFexpress Type A, CFexpress Type B and SDXC and SDHC memory cards.

These products are for digital cameras and use TLC 3D NAND, which is also used in enterprise SSDs.

AI inference and training tasks require fast data transfer on GPU servers, so enterprise SSDs are widely used. Hard disk drives have speed limitations.

NAND makers are focusing on the more profitable enterprise market, and supply to the consumer market is being pushed down the priority list, Techzin said.

Before Sony, Micron also withdrew in December last year from its Crucial brand business that supplied consumer SSDs and RAM, and fully shifted its business direction to enterprise IT.

The chief executive of flash controller maker Phison previously warned that the NAND shortage could bring small consumer electronics companies to a complete halt by 2026.

Sony did not disclose a schedule for resuming orders. It may be able to resume once NAND production capacity increases enough to meet the consumer market as well. The industry expects that to be between the end of 2027 and 2028.