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Memory Prices Set to Stay High as Makers Lock Supply Through 2030

Manufacturers are prioritizing AI customers and signing multi‑year buy commitments that make meaningful price relief unlikely for several years.

Overview

  • Lenovo told attendees at ISC 2026 on Friday that current DRAM and NAND price levels look like a “new normal” through 2030 and may not return to early‑2025 levels.
  • Micron has signed multiple strategic customer agreements described by CEO Sanjay Mehrotra as take‑or‑pay contracts that lock customers into purchases and revenues through the end of 2030.
  • Major suppliers are shifting production to high‑bandwidth memory for AI data centers, which cuts the factory output available for consumer DRAM and NAND and tightens spot supply.
  • Device makers are already passing higher memory costs to buyers, with Apple raising product prices and Microsoft warning console memory and storage costs have risen more than 2.5× and could double again by fall 2027.
  • Analysts say fab build‑outs and line redeployments take years to affect supply, so expanded capacity expected around 2028–2030 is unlikely to restore pre‑2025 prices in the near term.