Global memory shortage could worsen as AI demand consumes DRAM and NAND supply
The global memory shortage may become more severe before the market begins to recover. TeamGroup has warned that the most difficult period could arrive between late 2026 and early 2027, as booming demand for AI servers continues to absorb supply from major DRAM and NAND manufacturers.
During an earnings conference held on November 2, TeamGroup CEO Chen Ching-wen said the memory market has not yet reached the peak of its supply crunch. According to his outlook, the tightest window is expected between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the second quarter of 2027.
The pressure is being driven largely by artificial intelligence infrastructure. Data centers and enterprise customers are buying huge volumes of memory for AI servers, leaving less available for consumer products such as PCs, laptops, gaming hardware, smartphones, and storage devices.
Major memory producers, including Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron, are said to have already committed much of their 2027 output through long-term supply agreements. That could make it extremely difficult for other buyers to secure DRAM and NAND, even at much higher prices.
TeamGroup’s own sales mix shows how quickly the industry is changing. Business customers now represent 64.6% of the company’s memory sales, a sharp increase from 24.6% in the third quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, consumer sales have dropped from 75.4% to 35.4% over the same period.
This shift highlights a major challenge for the broader tech market. AI companies and cloud providers are willing to pay premium prices to secure memory supply, while consumer-focused brands may struggle to compete. As a result, prices for RAM, SSDs, and other memory-based products could continue rising.
The price movement has already been dramatic. A 16 Gb DDR5 chip had a contract price of $8.70 in October 2025. By September 2026, that price had climbed to around $48. Spot market prices, which apply to buyers without long-term contracts, are even higher and can carry an extra premium of 30% to 50%.
Although manufacturers are working to expand production, TeamGroup believes new capacity will not be enough to balance the market in the near term. Chinese suppliers such as CXMT and YMTC now account for close to 10% of the global memory market, but that additional output is still not sufficient to meet demand.
The company expects the imbalance to continue until at least the second half of 2028, and possibly longer if AI-related demand keeps accelerating. That means consumers and hardware makers may face a prolonged period of tight availability and elevated prices.
For buyers, the message is clear: memory prices may not return to normal anytime soon. Anyone planning to upgrade system RAM, buy a new SSD, build a gaming PC, or purchase devices with large memory and storage configurations may want to watch the market closely. If TeamGroup’s forecast proves accurate, the toughest phase of the global memory shortage is still ahead.
