DRAM prices could rise as much as 50% in the second quarter of this year, following a 75–80% surge in the first quarter, according to new forecasts from market research firm TrendForce.
TrendForce said on Monday that major memory chipmakers have been steadily discontinuing production of legacy products at DDR4 and below, tightening supply and driving significant price increases over recent months.
The firm noted that delays in capacity expansion by Taiwanese manufacturers are fueling the upward price trend. As a result, semiconductor prices could climb approximately 50% in the second quarter, TrendForce said.
The price rally has shifted from high-capacity to low-capacity products. TrendForce said last month's consumer DRAM price increases were primarily led by products at 4 gigabytes (GB) and below. The average price of DDR4 4GB modules rose more than 20% month-on-month, far outpacing gains in higher-capacity products.
Major chipmakers have been ending production on legacy process nodes, pushing low-capacity product prices steadily higher, TrendForce said. DDR3 and DDR2 prices surged 20–40% in March alone as supply shortages persisted. Taiwanese firms adopted aggressive pricing strategies, raising prices in March.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) are also sequentially notifying customers of price increases as new quarterly or semi-annual contracts are negotiated, according to industry sources. However, TrendForce said that because Korean chipmakers currently maintain relatively higher average selling prices (ASPs), their near-term price increases are expected to be more moderate.