TrendForce Forecasts 15–20% Surge in DRAM and NAND Flash Prices for Q4 2026
TrendForce forecasts that overall DRAM contract prices (including High Bandwidth Memory) and NAND Flash contract prices will both rise by 15% to 20% quarter-over-quarter in Q4 2026. This price growth is driven primarily by sustained strong demand for AI servers and advanced memory products. As chipmakers reallocate advanced production lines to HBM and enterprise SSDs for AI infrastructure, memory supply for consumer hardware remains constrained. This shift threatens to increase prices for consumer PCs and mobile devices even in an environment of sluggish retail demand. General DRAM contract prices are expected to rise by 10–15%, but factor in HBM demand to hit 15–20% overall. PC DRAM production capacity allocation is projected to drop further into 2027, while client SSDs and embedded storage like eMMC and UFS will see weaker price gains due to conservative purchasing by module makers.
## BACKGROUND
DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory) provides short-term working memory for systems, while NAND Flash serves as non-volatile storage. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is a 3D-stacked DRAM technology that offers extreme bandwidth essential for modern AI workloads. Universal Flash Storage (UFS) is an embedded flash memory standard designed for high-speed storage in mobile devices.