Major memory manufacturers like Samsung and SK hynix are cautious about expanding DRAM production despite rising demand and prices, to avoid future oversupply risks.
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Major memory manufacturers are adopting a more cautious approach to production expansion, even as demand continues to grow. Industry sources indicate that companies like Samsung and SK hynix are concerned about potential oversupply in the future.
The DRAM market is currently experiencing strong growth. The shortage is intensifying, and contract prices are rising rapidly, sometimes showing triple-digit increases. However, manufacturers are not rushing to significantly boost capacity, aiming to avoid past mistakes.
Samsung reportedly expects the current DRAM "supercycle" to end around 2028. This outlook leads the company to carefully consider investments in expanding production lines, focusing on long-term demand forecasts.
This caution stems from recent experience. After the pandemic, the PC market faced declining demand, and the corporate sector showed limited growth. The resulting memory oversupply had lingering effects that manufacturers dealt with for some time.
Despite this, companies are not abandoning expansion plans entirely. Customers are actively demanding more HBM and DRAM solutions, which require additional production lines. But manufacturers recognize that excessive capacity increases could create new problems if demand for infrastructure solutions stabilizes in the future.