We are only able to supply, for our key customers in the midterm, about 50%
to two-thirds of their requirements: Micron CEO forecasts production spend increase to meet the insane demand for memory but the RAM crisis will only get worse

Date:
Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Description:
The RAM crisis is having a knock-on effect on the memory industry in general
- but there could be an unlikely hero.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter Sign up for
breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Micron CEO says company is unable to meet current demand DRAM production is being prioritized for AI and datacenters Consumers are reeling for the cheap RAM of yesteryear Micron Technology Inc. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said that
the company are only able to supply, for our key customers in the midterm, about 50% to two-thirds of their requirements.

Mehrotras statement reflects the growing demand by datacenters for components related to AI compute that will likely worsen the supply of memory. The CEO added that, in order to meet the demand, the company will have to spend heavily on production. Article continues below You may like SK Group chairman's bleak warning on RAM crisis: it could last until 2030 'It really
is the craziest time ever': RAM crisis will hit consumers hard Micron is 'trying to help consumers' in RAM crisis despite Crucial closure RAM crisis not easing any time soon Mehrotras statements come after Micron reported excellent Q2 earnings, largely driven by datacenters looking for components
to fill the ever growing demand for AI with specific reference to high-bandwidth memory - namely Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and NAND memory.

But demand has massively outstripped supply, with Mehrotra stating that, We are only able to supply, for our key customers in the midterm, about 50% to two-thirds of their requirements, Mehrotra told CNBCs Squawk on the Street .

Mehrotra also added that there is currently an unprecedented gap between supply and demand and that we continue to expect supply-demand conditions for both DRAM and NAND to remain tight beyond calendar 2026.

This has been the catalyst for the RAM crisis being experienced by consumers, with manufacturers shifting production to cater to the more profitable
demands of AI, which has spiked memory prices across the board. TrendForce predicted that the price of DRAM will likely double quarter-over-quarter in its 1Q2026 memory industry survey . Are you a pro? Subscribe to our
newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me
with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Storage in general to take a hit As the production of DRAM and NAND share similar production environments, resources intended for the production of NAND memory are being cannibalized by DRAM production, especially as DRAM commands a far higher margin for profit.

This has had a further knock on effect for investment in NAND production,
with the remaining supply being hoovered up by enterprise demand for high-speed memory.

But the knock-ons dont end there. The lack of RAM supply is also forcing new devices such as mobile phones and laptops to ship with what is widely considered to be the bare minimum in RAM, forcing software developers to
cater to the reduced memory provisions - resulting in an increase in the use of virtual memory. What to read next HP admits RAM crisis means memory now consumes 35% of total cost of its PCs RAM crisis gets worse as DDR5 hits a
new high and worrying trend creeps in RAM price hike crisis could get even worse as US threatens 100% tariffs

Virtual memory uses a portion of the storage of a device's Solid State Drive (SSD) as a RAM surrogate. The constant writing and re-writing of temporary data to the SSD can cause it to fail far faster than its warranty would suggest, adding an additional cost to the consumer on top of the increased price of devices. China to seize the opportunity? There is however an opportunity for smaller firms, especially those in China, to fill the gap in the market. Several Chinese firms have fast-tracked construction timelines
for new NAND and DRAM production facilities.

Yangtze Memory recently pushed up the completion of its Wuhan Phase III NAND plant from 2027 to the second half of 2026 , and ChangXin Memory is in the process of expanding its Shanghai DRAM facility to an output of 300,000
wafers per month by late 2026.

The good news for consumers - especially now that the US has removed both companies from its restriction list - is that the market could soon see an influx of cheaper and higher capacity DRAM and NAND memory. The only caveat being that the products wont be from a recognizable brand name, so time will only tell how it holds up in quality. The best cloud storage for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/we-are-only-able-to-supply-for-our-key-customers -in-the-midterm-about-50-percent-to-two-thirds-of-their-requirements-micron-ce o-forecasts-production-spend-increase-to-meet-the-insane-demand-for-memory-but -the-ram-crisis-will-only-get-worse


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