South Korea DRAM export prices surged 401% year-over-year in August

Huo Xing Finance reports, according to South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s DRAM export prices have continued to surge, as AI-driven HBM production is squeezing supply of standard memory. Data shows that from the 1st to the 20th of this month, the average export price of South Korean DRAM reached $92,183 per kilogram, a 401% year-over-year increase and approximately 12.5 times higher than the low point in January 2023. Goldman Sachs forecasts that the DRAM supply gap will widen from 5.0% this year to 5.9% next year, noting that HBM required for AI servers and high-capacity server DRAM are absorbing limited production capacity, further tightening the supply of standard DRAM—a shortage that could persist until 2028. TrendForce estimates that by the end of next year, wafer inputs for HBM production by Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron will account for 30% of total DRAM wafer inputs, yet HBM will represent only about 13% of actual DRAM bit supply. Memory manufacturers warn that supply constraints driven by AI demand for DRAM and NAND may extend beyond 2027. SK Hynix stated that, from a supply perspective, 2027 could become the most severe memory shortage year in industry history.