Consumers who have been considering an upgrade to their PC or Mac’s RAM may want to make their purchase sooner rather than later. What began as a mild, but noticeable, uptick in DRAM prices during the first three months of 2013 has expanded into shortages that several computer makers state could send prices even higher and hurt sales.
For the past several years the price of computer memory fell considerably (reaching, as some pundits have said, “ridiculously low prices”), making it an affordable upgrade for many computer owners. With the market’s shift from traditional desktops and laptops to mobile devices and embedded computing systems, however, fewer components and raw materials were allocated for DRAM manufacturing. While manufacturers are now adjusting to remedy the shortages, the process could take as long as four months, leaving shortages throughout the summer.
Acer chairman J.T. Wang commented on the situation, as reported by DigiTimes:
Acer chairman J.T. Wang pointed out that DRAM prices are likely to continue rising as many DRAM makers have switched their production lines to manufacturing smartphone DRAM, leaving insufficient capacity to supply the PC industry. Even If DRAM makers decide to switch back capacity, it will still take about 3-4 months for the process to be completed, Wang said.
Other manufacturers have already attempted to shelter their supply chain from the shortages. Asustek (ASUS) recently told investors that the company stockpiled extra DRAM in the first quarter, with the hope of maintaining sufficient supply to satisfy second and third quarter demand. The companies that were unwilling or unable to stockpile memory in advance are now buying up large quantities on the open market in order to ensure adequate supply for the impending launch of products based on Intel’s Haswell architecture.
The existing shortage of memory, combined with aggressive purchases from large manufactures, results in increasing prices for consumers. While DRAM prices may not reach historical highs, it is likely that the 16GB upgrade you’ve been considering will soon cost a fair bit more.
