March 19, 2025 /SemiMedia/ — The global DRAM market has entered a strong recovery phase, with general DRAM prices reversing their decline since the second half of 2024. This rebound is largely driven by rising demand from the PC and smartphone markets, further supported by China’s smartphone subsidies and concerns over U.S. import tariffs, which have accelerated inventory consumption by PC manufacturers.

Market data shows that as of March 7, the spot price of DDR4 8Gb DRAM reached $1.762, continuing its upward trend. Similarly, DDR5 DRAM spot prices rose from $4.773 on February 17 to $5.088 on March 17, marking a 6.6% increase. Market research firm DRAMeXchange has raised its price forecast for contract transactions, predicting that the price of PC DDR5 16Gb will climb from a previous estimate of $3.3 to $3.9 in Q2, with further increases to $4.2 expected in the second half of the year.

At the same time, demand for server DRAM is gaining momentum, further fueling market recovery. Gartner forecasts that the AI PC market will expand by 165.5% in 2024, reaching 114.22 million units, which is expected to drive additional DRAM demand. Moreover, cloud service providers (CSPs) in the U.S. and China have been increasing server orders since Q4 2023. Industry data indicates that server DRAM inventory cycles have decreased from 15 weeks in Q3 2023 to 13 weeks in Q4, reflecting improving market demand.

In the second half of 2024, major tech firms including AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA are set to launch new products, further boosting demand for server DDR5. AMD has begun mass production of its Turin CPU in Q2, while Intel plans to introduce its Granite Rapids CPU within the same period. NVIDIA is expected to launch its B300 and GB300 GPUs after June, likely prompting increased orders from server companies.

With the memory market gradually reaching a supply-demand balance, leading DRAM manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are poised for improved financial performance. Industry analysts anticipate a shift from pessimism to optimism in Q2, with profitability projections trending upward.