Since the start of 2026, the memory chip market has seen an explosive price rally, with DRAM and NAND flash prices hitting their highest levels since 2016. RAM module prices have surged by as much as three to four times compared to the fourth quarter of last year, putting significant cost pressure on downstream industries including electronics, automobiles and cloud computing. This round of price hikes is not a short-term speculation, but an inevitable result of supply-demand imbalances coupled with the boom in AI computing demand.

On the supply side, global memory giants have proactively adjusted their capacity strategies, scaling back inefficient production and focusing on R&D of high-end chips, leading to a sustained tightening of market supply. On the demand side, the rapid proliferation of AI large models, data centers and smart terminals has driven a sharp rise in memory chip demand, and corporate stockpiling has further widened the supply gap. Additionally, rising raw material prices and logistics costs have jointly pushed up the terminal prices of memory chips.

Amid the price surge, consumer electronics makers of laptops, mobile phones and other devices have raised product prices one after another, increasing purchase costs for consumers. Automakers and cloud computing providers are also grappling with soaring component costs, which are squeezing their profit margins. However, industry experts predict that this price rally will last for about 12 months. As capacity gradually ramps up and supply-demand conditions improve, product prices will diverge: high-end chips will remain in short supply, while prices of low-end products will gradually retreat. For industrial chain firms, short-term efforts should focus on optimizing cost control, while long-term strategies need to ramp up core technology R&D to enhance the industrial chain’s self-reliance and controllability.