Senior executives at major memory manufacturers disclosed this week that supply constraints are expected to remain a significant factor in the market through 2028. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told investors that demand for the company’s memory products will continue to outpace available supply during this period, creating ongoing pricing pressures.
While Micron has exited the consumer RAM business, the supply constraints have broader implications for consumer electronics. The company’s manufacturing capacity is being directed toward high-bandwidth memory for artificial intelligence applications and DRAM for servers, reducing the volume available for consumer device production. Mehrotra stated that the supply-demand environment is “only getting tighter” and that even new manufacturing facilities planned to come online in 2028 will not immediately alleviate shortages due to the gradual nature of production ramp-up and technical challenges associated with next-generation memory types.
Mehrotra noted that approximately 75 percent of Micron’s memory output for 2027 is already committed, with most current sales discussions focused on 2028 availability. Demand for high-bandwidth memory is particularly acute, with pricing for 2027 deliveries significantly exceeding 2026 levels. The company does not have visibility into when supply will match demand given the continued expansion of AI model sizes and enterprise applications.
These observations were echoed by Samsung executive Kim Taewoo, who indicated that high-bandwidth memory will account for nearly 30 percent of DRAM manufacturers’ wafer capacity in 2027, up from 20 percent currently. This shift further constrains the production of DRAM for consumer applications. Consumers have already experienced effects of the shortage through higher costs for prebuilt computers and reduced RAM configurations in devices, with price increases also affecting smartphones, streaming devices, and gaming consoles.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI