[Edaily Reporter KIM JI-WAN ] Competition to expand artificial intelligence (AI) server capacity is expected to drive up memory semiconductor prices. Observers predict that as manufacturers focus their production capacity on high-value-added server products, supply shortages will intensify even for general-purpose products. Consequently, favorable conditions for SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660)are expected to continue into the fourth quarter.

On the 30th, market research firm TrendForce projected that contract prices for general-purpose DRAM would rise by 10–15% in the fourth quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter. It also forecast that NAND flash prices would increase by 15–20%, and that the overall DRAM market—including High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM)—would see a price increase of 15–20%.

However, the pace of price increases varies by product. Price increases for standard DRAM and NAND are expected to slow compared to the third quarter’s rates of 13–18% and 18–23%, respectively. In contrast, the overall DRAM market—including HBM—is expected to see a larger increase, rising from 8–13% in the third quarter to 15–20% in the fourth quarter.

Investment in AI infrastructure is at the heart of this price strength. TrendForce analyzed, “Amid robust orders for server DRAM and enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs), memory manufacturers are prioritizing the allocation of production capacity from advanced processes to high-performance server products,” adding, “This allocation of production capacity is a factor perpetuating supply shortages across the memory market.”

This server-focused production strategy is also impacting the mobile and PC markets. TrendForce projected that mobile DRAM is currently facing a shortage of supply, and if the conversion of production facilities to server-oriented production continues, PC DRAM supply is also likely to decrease next year.