DRAM Pricing Decline to be Sharper Than Expected

The cost of DRAM is expected to decline throughout 2019, but now it looks like pricing will decrease at a faster rate than expected, at least according to DRAMeXchange.  

Instead of the previously expected 15% price decline in Q1, DRAM modules are expected to lose 20% of their value, thanks to growing bit-supply (DRAM production) and slower increases to bit-demand, which is increasing the inventory levels. In effect, DRAM supplier is now supplying more DRAM than the market can handle at their current prices, causing the value of DRAM to decrease. 

It is worth noting that demand for DRAM is still growing, but not at a rate that can sustain today’s pricing. This is why DRAM manufacturers are slowing down their capacity growth, as continuing to pump more memory into the market will only serve to decrease their profitability further.

DRAM pricing is expected to decline throughout 2019, news that will no doubt be welcome to most PC builders, especially those who sit on the more budget-end of the spectrum. With AMD’s Ryzen 3rd Generation processors releasing in mid-2019, low DRAM pricing is set to help AMD achieve higher sales volume, by effectively lowering the price of their AM4 platform.