A forecast said DRAM prices in the fourth quarter of this year could rise by up to 18% from the previous quarter on the back of expanding demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) and server products.
On the 24th, market research firm TrendForce predicted overall DRAM prices in the fourth quarter of this year will climb 13% to 18% from the prior quarter. Over the same period, prices for commodity DRAM were also expected to rise 8% to 13%.
The main reason for the price increase is that major memory suppliers such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron are allocating the production capacity of their most advanced nodes intensively to server DRAM and HBM. As a result, production capacity for DRAM used in PCs and mobile devices has relatively decreased. TrendForce explained that, due to this, prices of DRAM made on older nodes will show a pronounced uptrend, while next-generation products will see only a slight increase.
In the server DRAM market, the price strength of DDR5 products is expected to continue into the fourth quarter. TrendForce said, "The United States and cloud service providers (CSPs) are expected to sharply increase purchases of server DRAM in 2026," adding, "Even though suppliers are actively adjusting production capacity, uncertainties such as technical issues at some companies and plans to prioritize HBM4 production in the first half of next year remain, keeping DDR5 supply unstable."
For mobile DRAM, LPDDR4X, which is mainly used in mid- to low-end smartphones, was forecast to rise more than 10% as suppliers cut production and smartphone makers increased purchases over concerns about supply shortages.
Graphic DRAM, including the latest GDDR7, also appears set to climb on seasonal PC inventory build-ups and expectations for Nvidia's "RTX 6000" series launch. Suppliers are tightening pricing policies on anticipated shortages, and the price increase for GDDR7 is projected to be larger than in the previous quarter.
DDR4, an older DRAM, nearly doubled in price in the third quarter as manufacturers moved to secure inventory in line with discontinuation plans by the three major memory makers. However, with sales of finished goods not showing a clear recovery, the pace of price increases is expected to ease somewhat in the fourth quarter.