DRAM and NAND Prices to Surge in Q3 2026

TrendForce reports DRAM and NAND Flash contract prices will rise up to 18% in Q3 2026 as AI and server demand squeeze global supply.

Memory contract prices are set for significant hikes in the third quarter of 2026, with DRAM projected to rise 13-18% and NAND Flash increasing 10-15% quarter-over-quarter. This growth is fueled by AI inference and large-scale data center deployments, particularly for Agentic AI workloads on x86 servers. Suppliers are reallocating capacity toward server applications and enterprise SSDs, causing supply shortages for PC DRAM and small-capacity high-performance storage. While smartphone vendors and PC OEMs face rising costs, retail prices for notebooks and mobile devices are expected to climb. Conversely, demand for consumer DRAM in televisions remains weak, and NVIDIA's RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell has failed to trigger expected GDDR7 demand. As major suppliers exit the consumer DRAM market to prioritize AI and server products, niche sectors like automotive and networking continue to perform well despite sluggish demand for NAND Flash wafers.