Samsung expects price increases for consumer products
Samsung expects price increases across the entire electronics industry. The reason is bottlenecks in memory chips.
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The South Korean technology group Samsung expects price increases across the entire electronics industry. Consumer products are also affected. This was reported by the news service Bloomberg, citing an interview with Samsung's Chief Marketing Officer, Wonjin Lee. The reason for this is increased production costs due to ongoing bottlenecks in memory chips.
Samsung itself is one of the world's largest manufacturers of memory chips. The company is therefore generally better positioned than competitors without their memory chip production, even if Samsung sister companies are known for turf wars. For the fourth fiscal quarter, the group has already forecast a threefold increase in operating profit. Nevertheless, they want to pass on the significantly increased costs for memory modules to end customers, Lee emphasized in the conversation on the sidelines of CES in Las Vegas. He also expects further price increases for memory chips.
Major technology producers such as Dell or Xiaomi had previously warned of possible price increases for their consumer products. Other manufacturers, such as Lenovo, Asus, or MSI, are stockpiling memory modules in anticipation of the escalating shortage. Apple also announced a large purchase from Samsung to maintain its margins.
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Prices for memory chips multiplied
Memory chips have been chronically scarce for months, especially Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), but also NAND flash for SSDs and soldered mass storage like eMMC (embedded multimedia card). DRAM and NAND flash are found in billions of electronic devices today, including PCs, servers, and smartphones, as well as TVs, cars, and household appliances.
The main reason for the memory chip shortage is the boom in artificial intelligence (AI). Because huge AI data centers are being built worldwide, the entire RAM production for 2026 is already sold out. AI servers consume large amounts of DRAM chips. However, the construction of new DRAM manufacturing facilities cannot keep up with the enormous demand. As a result of the shortage, prices for memory modules have multiplied in recent months. Between the end of November and the beginning of December alone, the cost of DDR5 RAM increased by around 50 percent.
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