Trendforce reports that dram suppliers in 1Q26 will continue to reallocate advanced process nodes and new capacity toward server and hbm products to support rising artificial intelligence server demand, which is tightening availability for other segments. This strategic shift in production focus has significantly limited supply in non server markets and is already reshaping pricing dynamics across the memory industry in the first quarter.
As a direct result of constrained output for conventional applications, the article states that conventional dram contract prices will increase by about 55-60% QoQ. In parallel, disciplined capacity management by nand flash suppliers, combined with robust server demand that is displacing other applications, is likely to increase contract prices across all nand flash product categories by 33-38%. These moves show suppliers prioritizing higher margin server and high bandwidth memory while deliberately restricting broader market supply.
The report notes that, despite weaker notebook shipments and slower growth in overall memory demand due to potential specification downgrades, pc dram prices are still set to rise sharply in the first quarter. Dram suppliers have simultaneously tightened supply to pc oems and module makers, forcing some oems to procure memory at higher prices through modules makers, and this is expected to raise dram suppliers’ module pricing and significantly drive up pc dram prices. Overall, the combination of server focused allocation and capacity discipline is pushing through broad based price increases across the dram and nand flash markets in 1Q26.
