Micron raises prices, suspends quotations! What is the market‘s reaction?

01  What Impact Does It Have on the Market?

Based on the current information available, distributors have also started suspending quotations. At present, the spot market has also seen phenomena of price increases and quotation suspensions. Most traders are in a wait-and-see state, and there are not many who are offering quotations; the specific range of price increases remains to be confirmed.

In terms of prices, some distributors engaged in storage-related businesses stated that they have not received many quotations so far, and everyone is making offers cautiously.

From the few quotations that have been received, Micron's DDR4 has indeed increased in price. However, it is still hard to conclude which specific capacity type has seen the largest price increase and what the exact range of the price increase is.

Some sources also indicated that they have not yet specifically felt the price changes in the market.

Additionally, some chip distributors focusing on Micron products said that the 16GB capacity has seen the biggest price increase currently. In early September, the price of industrial-grade DDR4 with 16GB capacity was around 21 US dollars, and now it has increased by approximately 30%. The commercial-grade version is relatively slightly cheaper. Due to sufficient market supply of the 8GB capacity, its price remains stable with no obvious increase for the time being: the commercial-grade 8GB DDR4 is still maintained at around 7 US dollars, while the industrial-grade one is around 9 US dollars.

He stated that the scheduled order prices have increased by 20-30%, consistent with the widely reported notice from Micron. However, the price increase for spot goods is usually higher.

DDR4 products of other brands have also seen a slight price rise, but the magnitude is not significant. Some distributors indicated that the increase is around 5%, and they believe most market players are still in a wait-and-see stance.

We consulted other individuals related to Micron, who said the situation still needs to be observed.

A Review of Micron DDR4's Previous Market Trends

DDR4 began to see a sharp price increase starting from February and March this year, with Samsung initially recording the largest gain. By mid-June, Micron's "official announcement" of DDR4 production halt sent the price of Micron DDR4— which had seen relatively modest increases before—soaring, with the price surge ranging from 150% to 400%.

A chip distributor specializing in Micron products stated that for Micron's 8GB DDR4:

The price was between US$1.15 and US$1.25 from November to December last year;

It gradually rose to US$3 by May this year;

It climbed to over US$4 before the production halt announcement;

After the announcement, it surged to more than US$8.

As for the 16GB DDR4:

It was priced at US$2.88 from November to December last year;

It rose to over US$5.5 by May this year;

The transaction price reached US$20 to US$21 in June.

In addition to DDR4 products, following the production halt announcement, Micron's LPDDR4 also experienced a frantic price surge. Although DDR3 and LPDDR5 saw lower price

increases compared to DDR4 and LPDDR4, some models still recorded a growth of 30% to 50%.

After entering July, DDR4 as a whole entered a phase of high-level consolidation. Most models ceased their frantic price surges and stabilized, while some part numbers saw price

 corrections.

Micron's 8GB DDR4 slightly dropped from over US$8 to around US$7. The transaction price of the 16GB DDR4 changed from US$20-US$21 to US$17-US$25, among which industrial-

grade models were slightly more expensive.

In August, some distributors stated that Micron's 8GB and 16GB DDR4 models still had the highest demand in the market.

02  Possible Causes
Micron Announces Price Hike Shortly After Official Discontinuation:Why?

Opinions vary regarding the reasons, and numerous media outlets and institutions have put forward their speculations.

1. Supply and Demand Factors

According to a report by Taiwan's Economic Daily News citing supply chain sources, Micron's senior management has observed that customer demand forecasts indicate a

 significant supply shortage. Consequently, the company has decided to urgently suspend quotations for all products and readjust prices for subsequent periods.

According to news from Jijin.com, some analysts point out that the primary reasons for this price hike and quotation suspension are supply shortages. These shortages stem from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) shifting their traditional DRAM production capacity to high-margin products and discontinuing older manufacturing processes such as DDR4 and LPDDR4X, which has led to an imbalance between supply and demand.

2. Alignment with Financial Reports

There are reports suggesting that this quotation suspension may be intended to align with Micron's upcoming financial report release.

Analysts from Citigroup predict that Micron will provide far better-than-expected performance guidance in its financial report for the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year (to be released on September 23). This positive outlook will be driven by increased sales volume and price hikes of DRAM and NAND products.

Taiwanese media reported that Micron stated it cannot respond to market rumors as the company is in a quiet period prior to its earnings call.

Prior to Micron's announcement of the price hike, there were reports in August and September respectively that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix had decided to extend the production of DDR4 until next year. However, judging from the market performance at that time, the news of extended production did not have a significant impact on the market.

After Micron's recent quotation suspension and price hike, is this a genuine shortage and real price increase, or just a "last-ditch effort" by major memory manufacturers? Whether the market can rally, by how much, and for how long—these questions still require further observation.