Micron and Samsung executives say the memory shortage, driven by surging AI demand for HBM and server DRAM, will persist through 2028, with production capacity prioritized for AI over consumer devices.
<p>Micron and Samsung executives this week said the memory shortage will continue for at least the next couple of years.</p>
<p>Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra expects demand for the firm’s memory to exceed its available supply over that period, he told investors last night.</p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/after-nearly-30-years-crucial-will-stop-selling-ram-to-consumers/">Micron no longer sells consumer RAM,</a> and Mehrotra’s statements refer to Micron’s business-to-business sales of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI and DRAM for servers. However, his comments also have implications for consumer devices. Manufacturing capacity is prioritizing memory for AI and servers, limiting the supply of memory manufactured for consumer devices.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/10/memory-supplies-are-only-getting-tighter-micron-ceo-says/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/10/memory-supplies-are-only-getting-tighter-micron-ceo-says/#comments">Comments</a></p>
# Memory executives expect RAM shortage to continue through 2028
Source: [https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/10/memory-supplies-are-only-getting-tighter-micron-ceo-says/](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/10/memory-supplies-are-only-getting-tighter-micron-ceo-says/)
Micron and Samsung executives this week said the memory shortage will continue for at least the next couple of years\.
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra expects demand for the firm’s memory to exceed its available supply over that period, he told investors last night\.
[Micron no longer sells consumer RAM,](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/after-nearly-30-years-crucial-will-stop-selling-ram-to-consumers/)and Mehrotra’s statements refer to Micron’s business\-to\-business sales of high\-bandwidth memory \(HBM\) for AI and DRAM for servers\. However, his comments also have implications for consumer devices\. Manufacturing capacity is prioritizing memory for AI and servers, limiting the supply of memory manufactured for consumer devices\.
“Overall, supply\-demand environment is only getting tighter,” Mehrotra said, per a transcript from[Seeking Alpha](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4951200-micron-technology-inc-mu-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript)\.
Micron plans to open new clean rooms for memory manufacturing in 2028, but Mehrotra expects supply to remain limited\.
“Even after they are built, even after first wafer output, production ramps up only gradually in the clean rooms,” he said\. “That’s just the nature of what it takes to bring up production, and with HBM going from 3E to a greater mix of 4 and 4E, and with the trade ratio that exists, that … creates headwinds with respect to supply growth\. Node transitions of the future give less productivity gain per wafer as well\.”
Seventy\-five percent of Micron’s memory output for 2027 is already accounted for, and most of the company’s current memory sales discussions are about 2028, the CEO said\. Additionally, demand for HBM is surpassing demand for Micron’s DRAM\.
Micron's CEO warned that memory supply will be significantly tighter in 2027 and 2028 than in 2026, signaling continued constraints on DRAM/HBM availability driven by AI demand.
Global RAM manufacturers are expected to meet only 60% of demand by end of 2027, with shortages potentially lasting until 2030, as chipmakers prioritize high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers over consumer electronics. Price increases are already affecting phones, laptops, VR headsets, and gaming devices.
Report says Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have sold out all 2027 DRAM and HBM capacity to AI companies, worsening the RAM shortage and driving up consumer prices for memory, SSDs, and consoles.
AI-driven demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is constraining consumer RAM production, causing price increases for devices like cheap smartphones, especially in emerging markets.
An ex-Samsung chip executive predicts that aggressive investments by Chinese memory manufacturers like CXMT could lead to a RAM price drop in the second half of 2027, as increased supply outpaces demand.