Memory Crisis: RAM and SSD Prices Predicted to Keep Soaring
The memory chip supply crisis affecting the technology industry is expected to last until 2028. This raises concerns, especially for users of electronic devices that rely on memory components such as RAM and SSDs. According to a report from Jefferies Equity Research, prices for these components are predicted to keep increasing in the coming years.
Causes of the Memory Chip Price Increase
In the latest report, Jefferies revealed that memory chip prices will experience significant increases. It is predicted that in the third quarter of 2026, memory prices will surge by around 40-50 percent compared to the previous quarter. This upward trend is expected to continue into the fourth quarter of 2026, with an additional increase of about 30-40 percent. Beyond that, memory chip prices are forecasted to keep skyrocketing through 2027.
According to Jefferies, the main cause of this phenomenon is the limited supply of memory chips in the global market. Meanwhile, demand for memory chips continues to rise, especially to meet the needs of the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) and computing industries.
Dominance of the Largest Manufacturers
Jefferies also noted that the three largest DRAM manufacturers in the world—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—have yet to show signs of significantly increasing supply in the near future. Although there is a projection that memory chip production capacity will start to increase by about 15-20 percent in 2028, this amount is still considered insufficient to keep up with the growing demand from the AI and computing sectors.
One factor worsening the situation is the large number of long-term contracts signed between memory manufacturers and major technology companies. Currently, about 50 percent of memory production capacity has been allocated through these contracts, and this figure is expected to rise to 70 percent. This means the supply of memory chips for consumer devices such as smartphones, laptops, PCs, and game consoles will become increasingly scarce.
Impact on Consumer Devices
The impact of this supply crisis is quite significant. With reduced memory chip supply, the prices of electronic devices relying on these components are likely to increase. This poses a problem for many users who want to upgrade or buy new devices, as rising prices will strain their budgets.
Based on information gathered from KompasTekno, this situation also affects smartphone production worldwide. Analysts predict that smartphone production will become increasingly constrained due to this memory crisis, resulting in limited choices for consumers.
Efforts by Chinese Memory Manufacturers
Amid this crisis, there was hope that Chinese memory manufacturers could help lower prices in the global market. However, according to Jefferies, companies like CXMT and YMTC have yet to make a significant impact. Although they continue to increase memory chip production, their prices are not much different from other manufacturers. Most of their products are also aimed at meeting domestic market demand, so they do not help alleviate the global supply crisis.
Jefferies projects that capacity expansion by Chinese memory manufacturers is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on the market until 2027. Therefore, memory chip prices are expected to remain high at least until the end of 2027.
This situation certainly draws attention from technology users, especially ahead of new product launches expected to meet consumer expectations. With prices continuing to soar, manufacturers and consumers must prepare to face challenges in the coming years.
