Global DDR4 Memory Contract Prices Reach Record High After 1,370% Surge
Driven by surging AI infrastructure demand and supply capacity shifts, global DDR4 8Gb memory contract prices reached an all-time high of $25 in August. Over a 17-month period, average contract prices for DDR4 memory surged by 1,370.59%. The persistent surge has triggered a rare price inversion where legacy DDR4 modules are trading at higher prices than newer DDR5 memory. This rapid cost escalation heavily impacts legacy PC builders, enterprise server maintenance, and consumer hardware upgrades. TrendForce revised its Q3 PC DRAM contract price growth forecast upward to 18–23%. Additionally, mainstream 128Gb MLC NAND flash memory prices rose 1.4% to $30.50, marking its 20th consecutive month of price increases.
## BACKGROUND
DRAM contract prices are fixed rates negotiated for large-volume purchases between memory makers and hardware manufacturers. As major chipmakers reallocate production capacity toward high-margin High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and DDR5 for AI servers, the supply of legacy DDR4 has tightened drastically, worsening supply shortages.