DDR4 memories price rose 50% only in the second half of May

The price of DDR4 memories has shot in recent weeks, with an increase of up to 56% in the second half of May 2025according to the Digitimes Portal. Elevation mainly reaches 8 GB and 16 GB chips in cash marketdemonstrating a series of changes in the semiconductor industry and geopolitical uncertainties.

Climbing has affected from home consumers to large server manufacturers, who still depend on this memory pattern for various platforms.

The unexpected increase lit alerts in the sector, mainly because Supply contracts also rose from 22% to 25% In the same period, pressing the margins of the production chain.

End of the line to DDR4?

The main cause of the increase is in the accelerated transition of the main manufacturers to DDR5 production lines. Companies such as Samsung, Micron E SK Hynix They were already signaling the gradual output of DDR4, given the greater profitability of the newest models.

However, the movement has gained speed in recent months after a series of strategic and political decisions. In April, rumors indicated that Samsung would end the production of DDR4 in June.

Now, until Chinese manufacturers like CXMT (who had been taking on a larger slice of this market) are abandoning this type of chip, by determination of the local government.

Exhausted stocks and commercial tensions

Another factor that aggravates the condition is the indirect impact of the tension between United States and Chinawhich has motivated US companies to reinforce their stocks of strategic components. THE SUPPLY RACE It further raised the demand, precisely in a moment of reduced offer.

The market is experiencing a perfect storm: drop in global offer, end of cheap Chinese stocks and commercial uncertainties between US and China

The practice of “stockpiling” – or preventive storage – rekindled the speculative dynamism in the memory market, especially between distributors and traders that operate in the spot marketsector known to be sensitive to sudden oscillations of supply and demand.

Predictions indicate new discharge in the coming months

Even after the jump observed in May, analysts project new increases of 10% to 20% over the third quarter of 2025especially if the abandonment of DDR4 production continues to be followed by other smaller players.

Nevertheless, some smaller suppliers should continue to act in this niche, focusing especially on applications industrial and embarkedwhich still depend on DDR4 -based platforms, such as servers Intel Ice Lake e AMD Milanwith extended service life until at least 2026.

Also read:

Can DDR4 become a new premium item?

With the price difference between DDR4 and DDR5 falling to less than 7%There are those who see the movement as the beginning of the end of the DDR4 era. But while large manufacturers abandon the pattern, niches of use still guarantee survival.

Even so, the near future can reserve an unusual scenario: older memories costing almost the same (or even more) than newer modelsby a simple question of scarcity. For users and companies that still depend on this technology, the message of course: The best time to supply may be passing.

Source: Digitimes