Memory market under pressure
Silicon Motion says the memory industry is experiencing an AI-driven structural shift, reporting NAND flash prices up four- to tenfold since August 2025 and forecasting module-makers’ profits could double or triple in 2026. A Global Electronics Association report similarly finds AI demand is redirecting memory supply and increasing costs and lead times across manufacturers. (digitimes.com) (globenewswire.com)
Artificial intelligence demand is soaking up so much memory supply that prices for some flash chips have jumped sharply since late 2025. (digitimes.com) NAND flash is the storage memory used in solid-state drives, phones, and memory cards. Silicon Motion President Wallace Kou said on April 14 that NAND prices have risen fourfold to tenfold since August 2025, and he said memory-module makers’ profits could double or triple in 2026. (digitimes.com) A separate April 13 report from the Global Electronics Association said the squeeze is reaching far beyond data centers. In a February 2026 survey, 62 percent of manufacturers reported constrained availability or longer lead times, and 82 percent reported rising prices. (globenewswire.com) The bottleneck starts with how memory is made. High Bandwidth Memory, a fast chip stack used with artificial intelligence processors, is pulling factory capacity away from conventional Dynamic Random-Access Memory and NAND products used across consumer and industrial electronics. (globenewswire.com) That shift is showing up in supply plans for 2026 and 2027. TrendForce, citing reports from Taiwan media, said overall industry capacity may rise only about 15 percent to 25 percent in 2026, while Silicon Motion expects the supply-demand gap to widen further in 2027. (trendforce.com) Big memory makers are not rushing to flood the market with new chips. TrendForce said Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology, and SK hynix have remained cautious on capital spending, which is extending expansion cycles and keeping supply growth behind demand. (trendforce.com) The pressure is spreading into everyday products because memory sits inside almost every modern device. The Global Electronics Association said the tight market is affecting smartphones, laptops, vehicles, industrial systems, and medical devices. (globenewswire.com) Recent market data points in the same direction. DRAMeXchange, a TrendForce pricing service, showed updated Dynamic Random-Access Memory spot prices on April 14 and flash spot prices on April 6, underscoring that memory pricing remains active and elevated across multiple categories. (dramexchange.com) The Global Electronics Association said only 14 percent of surveyed companies expect conditions to improve within six months. For manufacturers outside the artificial intelligence supply chain, that leaves 2026 looking less like a short shortage and more like a new purchasing reality. (globenewswire.com)
