According to a report from China Economic Daily, SK Hynix has informed its clients that it plans to hike prices for DDR5 DRAM by 15-20%.
The report also states that the company’s competitors Samsung and Micron (NASDAQ:MU), may soon follow suit.
Wells Fargo analysts said the move reflects the impact “of tightening DDR5 supply given the impact of ramping HBM production.” The report states that more than 20% of Hynix’s DRAM production is being converted to mass-produce High Bandwith Memory (HBM).
“We think this reinforces our positive view that HBM capacity expansion will place increasing pressure on DDR4 / DDR5 bit supply,” analysts continued.
In a separate report, analysts at Wells Fargo recently said that their industry checks suggested an overall blended DRAM price increase in the mid-teens quarter-over-quarter range for Q3 2024, followed by a high single-to-low double-digit quarter-over-quarter increase into Q4 2024.
SK Hynix previously noted that its entire HBM production capacity for 2024 has been fully booked, with nearly all of its 2025 capacity also sold out.
A few weeks ago, reports indicated that Hynix and Samsung saw significant growth in their HBM sales, with Hynix experiencing an 80% quarter-over-quarter increase and Samsung seeing a mid-50% rise during Q2 2024.
Hynix also projected a 300% year-over-year growth in HBM sales for 2024, followed by a doubling of shipments in 2025.
Samsung, on the other hand, expected its HBM sales in the second half of 2024 to grow 3.5 times compared to the first half. Moreover, the South Korean giant noted a fourfold year-over-year increase in HBM bit production and committed volumes for 2024, with plans to double its capacity in 2025.