DRAM Prices May Drop This Year
DRAM manufacturers may have their best days behind them. TrendForce forecasts drops in memory prices, including that used in PC components.
Anyone who has recently tried to buy computer parts is well aware of the current situation on the market and the often absurd prices of new components. However, there is a chance that the situation will soon change (slightly) for the better. TrendForce analysis shows that the cost of dynamic memory (DRAM) may decrease in the coming quarter.
The group predicts that average DRAM prices will fall by 3-8% from quarter to quarter, and in the case of memory used by the PC market by 5-10%. This is expected to be the result of increased production, which accelerated noticeably early in the second half of 2021. TrendForce analysts believe that DRAM shipments will exceed market demand in the coming months. Even now customers are waiting for backlogged orders, which they placed en masse to protect themselves from potential shortages in the future. As a result, their inventories are far above recommendations, which will force companies to focus on getting rid of excess pieces.
Unfortunately, in the case of memory for GPUs, we shouldn't expect major reductions. TrendForce predicts either no reductions or a price drop of at most 5%.
It should be noted that TrendForce's analysis apparently did not include the newer DDR5 memories. Moreover, DRAM prices are not the only or most important factor affecting PC component prices. Analysts point out that the ghost of the pandemic could still translate into supply problems for other components, such as power management chips in graphics cards. Nevertheless, it is worth keeping an eye on the situation in stores.
