Samsung's 60% DRAM Price Hike Signals a New Phase of Global Memory Tightening (www.buysellram.com)

Samsung has pushed contract prices for server DRAM sharply higher—Reuters reports up to a 60% jump for a 32 GB DDR5 module (roughly $149 → $239 from September to November 2025), with 16 GB and 128 GB modules up 40–50% and 64/96 GB units up >30%. The hikes reflect a fast-moving supply reallocation toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and AI-focused wafers, constrained fab utilization after prior capex cuts, and surging orders from AI data centers running LLM training and inference on modern accelerators. Vendor prioritization of high-margin AI memory has tightened availability for mainstream DDR5 and DDR4, resetting contract baselines to pre-pandemic highs. The technical and market implications are broad: retail DDR5 prices have roughly doubled year-over-year and popular 32 GB DDR5-5600 kits now retail near $180–$200, while used DDR5 prices rose 10–25% since September. Analysts (TrendForce, Tom’s Hardware) expect elevated pricing through 2026 with single-digit DRAM supply growth and potential further contract increases of 20–40% if capacity stays constrained. For AI/ML teams, hyperscalers and OEMs, memory is rapidly becoming a strategic bottleneck—prompting earlier contract locking, inventory planning, and heavier reliance on secondary markets—while smaller resellers and system builders face squeezed margins and greater procurement volatility.