[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] RAM prices may rise further toward the end of 2026, a possibility has been raised.

On Oct. 6 (local time), IT outlet TechRadar reported that market researcher TrendForce assessed that negotiations over DRAM contract prices in the fourth quarter of 2026 are pointing to price increases.

The main drivers are supply shortages and rising demand. TrendForce said DRAM supply is extremely tight and that demand from U.S. cloud service providers is a factor leading price increases. It said early talks with suppliers have also confirmed signals that fourth-quarter price increases may be significant.

The burden of higher memory prices may not be limited to DRAM. An official at Chinese memory maker YMTC said the global memory shortage is expected to continue for at least another 3 years. The official mentioned that the company recently raised chip prices and is shifting its direction toward higher-margin products.

That remark is directly linked to NAND production. YMTC is cited as the world’s third-largest supplier in the NAND flash market used in SSDs. Observers therefore say YMTC’s price hikes and changes in its production strategy could also affect SSD prices.

Some in the market had expected NAND supply and demand to return to balance around the second half of 2027, but the latest signals cast doubt on that scenario. Caution is needed because it is not an official announcement, but it aligns with the broader trend of rising prices across the memory industry.

It is also a burden that memory prices have surged sharply in recent months. With DRAM facing cloud demand and NAND affected by suppliers’ production adjustments, upward pressure on prices appears to be intensifying on both fronts. The industry is placing more weight on the possibility that the upward pricing trend will continue through the rest of 2026 and into 2027.

Amid these developments, market attention is focusing on two tracks. One is how much more demand from U.S. cloud operators will push up DRAM contract prices. The other is when NAND supply will actually stabilize. With speculation even emerging that the memory supply crunch could last until 2030, volatility in prices for key storage devices, including PC RAM and SSDs, is likely to persist for the time being.

According to The Wire China, China's YMTC expects this NAND shortage to last another three years. Folks, even YMTC, a Chinese NAND maker, thinks this boom will run for three more years. And you're still modeling NAND oversupply by the end of next year? https://t.co/RkgNlBvUf4