Overview
- Contract prices for server DDR5 jumped sharply, with 32GB modules rising from $149 in September to $239 in November, and 16GB and 128GB parts up about 50%.
- Industry distributors report major server builders and cloud operators accepting far smaller allocations than needed, and some customers resorting to stockpiling.
- PC brands including Asus and MSI have been buying heavily on the spot market to secure consumer DRAM as quotations from some suppliers pause, according to DigiTimes.
- Samsung postponed its usual October price notice before imposing the hikes and is adding a new production line in South Korea to address longer-term AI demand.
- Rising memory costs are rippling through supply chains, with Xiaomi warning of higher phone production costs, SMIC citing delays in other chip orders, and memory-maker shares rallying.