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Supply chain: General-purpose DRAM is expected to be in short supply

2024-07-01

According to supply chain, general-purpose DRAM is expected to be in short supply as memory chip makers expand high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production capacity.

Insiders said that the capacity utilization rate of general-purpose DRAM chips of Samsung and SK Hynix is now between 80% and 90%, a phenomenon that is in sharp contrast to the full-speed production of NAND flash memory. Since the beginning of 2024, general-purpose DRAM capacity has only increased by about 10%.

Compared with HBM DRAM, general-purpose DRAM refers to memory chips used in mobile phones and personal computers. With the popularization of artificial intelligence (AI), the demand for enterprise-class solid-state drives (eSSDs) has surged, prompting manufacturers such as Samsung and SK Hynix to run NAND production lines at full capacity in the second quarter of 2024. In addition, due to improved market conditions, Kioxia ended its production cuts in June, restoring NAND capacity utilization to 100%.

The industry believes that the possibility of a rebound in demand for general-purpose DRAM cannot be ruled out, which depends on the popularization of AI capabilities in terminal applications.

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