Well, it seems like the DRAM industry is expected to witness uncertainty once again, as Samsung is reportedly planning to implement a global price rise.
Samsung & Micron Are Now Anticipated To Raise DRAM/NAND Pricing, Making Consumer Memory a Lot More Pricey
This surely isn't a good time for consumers at all, since, apart from all the uncertainty in the market associated with Trump tariffs, companies are reportedly trying to combat them by "front-running" the announcements and importing products in huge volumes to avoid additional taxation. Similarly, according to the Korean media outlet MK, the Korean giant plans to increase DRAM and NAND prices by up to 3%-5%, keeping in light the demand from the semiconductor industry and how competitors like Micron are increasing prices as well.
After the COVID pandemic, the DRAM industry was hit by an economic slowdown, with demand at rock bottom. This ultimately caused Samsung to take massive losses, but now, the situation has changed for the firm, as it is anticipating huge demand for DRAM products. One of the reasons for a price hike is that Samsung's customers are stockpiling semiconductor inventory, which is why manufacturers are capitalizing on the demand by increasing pricing, and the Korean giant is apparently doing the same.
Based on the data from DRAMeXchange, DDR5 memory module pricing has risen by up to 12%, and the demand was mainly from HPC servers, while NAND pricing saw a 9% rise. This has shown that demand is definitely there, but it isn't from the consumer PC segment but rather from the AI market, which is why prices have seen such a rise. With companies like Samsung and Micron announcing a price hike, this means that prices would soar further ahead, which isn't good for the consumer markets.
Consumer RAM pricing could rise notably in the upcoming months, and it won't be wrong to say that now might be the best time to get your DDR5 modules, given that with Trump tariffs and trade uncertainities, the consumer PC markets will see a tremendous rise in pricing.
