As of January 16, 2026, the wave of price hikes for memory chips continues to escalate, driven primarily by the AI-induced structural supply-demand imbalance. Chipmakers are shifting production capacity toward HBM and enterprise-grade products, tightening the supply of consumer-grade chips and pushing prices upward. Below are the latest key updates:
I. Core Prices and Increases (as of January 16)
● DDR Memory (DRAM)
The contract price of general-purpose DRAM for Q1 has surged 55%-60% month-on-month, with Samsung and SK Hynix raising the quarterly quotation of server DRAM by 60%-70%. The price of consumer-grade DDR5 has more than doubled in six months, and the weekly increase of DDR4 stands at around 8%. A single 256GB DDR5 server memory module has exceeded RMB 40,000.
● SSD (NAND)
The contract price of consumer-grade SSD for Q1 has generally risen by 33%-38%, with the increase of large-capacity QLC drives exceeding 40%. The weekly growth rate of NVMe 4.0 SSD ranges from 7% to 14%, while that of large-capacity SATA3.0 SSD is 5%-9%. The price of 2TB PCIe 4.0 QLC drives has jumped from USD 89 to USD 139, representing a 56% increase.
● USB Flash Drives
Affected by the price hikes of NAND flash chips, the prices of large-capacity USB flash drives (1TB and above) have gone up, with distributors mainly making small-volume replenishments to meet rigid demand.
II. Core Reasons for Price Hikes
1. AI Demand Siphoning
The booming demand for HBM and enterprise-grade storage from AI servers has prompted Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron to redirect their advanced production capacity to HBM, squeezing the supply of general-purpose DRAM and NAND.
2. Supply-Demand Imbalance
Chipmakers are running at historically low inventory levels, while North American cloud vendors continue to increase orders, widening the supply-demand gap.
3. Manufacturers' Supply Control and Price Hikes
Leading manufacturers have adopted quarterly contracting and rejected long-term agreements, further driving up quotation prices.
4. Seasonal Factors
As the Spring Festival approaches, OEM factories are shutting down for holidays, leading to tighter production capacity before the festival.
III. Latest Industry Developments (January 10-16)
● Terminal Chain Reaction
Mid-to-high-end PC models from Lenovo, Dell and other brands have seen price increases of RMB 500-1,500, while mobile phones from Redmi, iQOO and other brands have risen by RMB 100-600.
● Trading Market
The spot market is characterized by high prices but low transaction volumes, with chaotic high quotations and limited acceptance among distributors. Transactions are mainly driven by rigid-demand replenishments.
● Institutional Forecast
TrendForce stated that 2026 will mark the start of a "super bull market" for memory chips, with Q1 witnessing the largest quarterly price increase in nearly a decade. The supply-demand tightness is expected to persist until 2028.
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