Sony suspends nearly all SD and CFexpress memory card orders in Japan

On March 27, 2026, Sony Japan officially announced it would no longer accept orders for nearly its entire lineup of CFexpress and SD memory cards, effective immediately. The suspension covers CFexpress Type A cards (240GB, 480GB, 960GB, and 1920GB capacities), CFexpress Type B cards (240GB and 480GB), and the full range of high-end SDXC/SDHC cards including the TOUGH-branded models and standard SF-M and SF-E series in capacities from 64GB to 512GB. Only two product lines escaped the freeze: the 960GB CFexpress Type B card and the entry-level SF-UZ series SD cards, which had already been discontinued in the United States.

The order halt applies to both authorized dealers and direct consumer purchases through the Sony Store in Japan. Sony did not provide a timeline for resuming production or order fulfillment, stating only that it would monitor the supply situation and announce any changes on its product information page. Existing retail inventory may still be available until stock runs out, but no new shipments are being fulfilled.

Sony is the first major memory card manufacturer to completely halt orders rather than simply raising prices or extending delivery lead times. The announcement came on the same day Sony revealed worldwide PlayStation 5 price increases of up to $100, with the standard PS5 rising from $549.99 to $649.99 in the United States effective April 2, 2026.

The root cause of the suspension is a structural shortage of NAND flash and DRAM memory chips driven by the explosive expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The three largest memory chip producers, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, control over 95 percent of global DRAM production. All three have strategically redirected manufacturing capacity toward High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips used in AI accelerators and data center GPUs. HBM manufacturing requires significantly more silicon wafer capacity per bit than standard memory modules, meaning every wafer allocated to AI chips is a wafer removed from consumer electronics supply.

According to TrendForce, data centers will consume over 70 percent of the high-end memory chips produced globally in 2026. Hyperscale cloud operators including Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon have signed long-term supply contracts with memory manufacturers, locking up production capacity at premium prices for years. Nvidia's latest B300 GPU alone requires 96 individual DRAM dies just for its HBM modules. A fully configured DGX B300 system with eight GPUs needs 768 DRAM dies for HBM alone, not counting system memory.

The demand imbalance has caused prices to surge dramatically. TrendForce revised its Q1 2026 forecasts upward multiple times, ultimately projecting conventional DRAM contract price increases of 90 to 95 percent quarter-over-quarter and NAND flash price increases of 55 to 60 percent for the same period. Memory card prices have roughly tripled in recent months, affecting all tiers of solid-state storage from high-end professional cards to basic consumer models.

The shortage extends well beyond Sony. Western Digital announced in February 2026 that it had sold out its entire hard drive production for the year. Kioxia, one of the leading NAND flash producers, confirmed that its entire 2026 NAND flash output was already committed. Phison's CEO warned that NAND shortages could force some consumer electronics companies to shut down entirely in 2026. IDC projects that global DRAM supply growth in 2026 will reach only 16 percent year-over-year, while NAND supply growth is expected at just 17 percent, both well below historical norms of 20 to 30 percent.

For the professional photography and videography industry, the impact is severe. Photographers and filmmakers who depend on CFexpress and SD cards for 4K and 8K video recording, RAW photo capture, and high-speed burst shooting face limited options. They must either locate remaining retail stock at inflated prices, turn to alternative brands such as SanDisk, Lexar, or ProGrade Digital, or risk compatibility issues with unfamiliar products. The disruption threatens established brand loyalties and may force professionals to reconsider entire equipment setups.

While the suspension currently applies only to Japan, industry analysts warn it could signal broader global restrictions. Other memory card manufacturers face the same underlying supply pressures. The situation reflects a fundamental shift in the semiconductor industry where consumer electronics are increasingly treated as a secondary priority behind AI infrastructure investment.

The helium shortage resulting from the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz region may also be contributing to the problem. Helium is essential in semiconductor fabrication processes, and disruptions to supply from the Middle East have added further pressure on chip manufacturing capacity.

New fabrication capacity from memory manufacturers is not expected to reach volume production until 2027 at the earliest, suggesting the shortage will persist through much of 2026. Industry analysts describe the current situation as a structural reallocation rather than a typical cyclical downturn, meaning the era of affordable consumer memory products may not return in the near term.