The demand for DRAM memory and NAND flash is currently very high and is predicted to boost revenue by up to 77%, leading to increased prices. The ongoing surge in AI adoption, driven by more companies using modern hardware for AI capabilities, is clearly influencing hardware demand. Recently, news has circulated about NVIDIA planning to limit the supply of RTX 40 GPUs to prioritize their Blackwell lineup. Today, it’s evident that DRAM and NAND flash memories are also experiencing their highest demand in recent years.
TrendForce predicts that demand for DRAM and NAND flash memories will reach record levels, with DRAM revenue projected to hit $90.7 billion by the end of 2024. NAND flash memory is expected to grow to $67.4 billion, marking a 77% year-over-year revenue increase. DRAM revenue could see a 75% year-over-year increase compared to 2023 and is expected to remain strong.
While the year-on-year revenue increase won’t match previous rates, 2025 will still see substantial growth in demand and revenue: around 51% for DRAM and up to 29% for NAND flash. DRAM revenue is expected to reach $136.5 billion by 2025, while NAND flash memory revenue will be approximately $87 billion.
A key factor driving high revenue is HBM memory, one of the industry’s most expensive types. Despite accounting for less than 5% of total shipments, HBM is expected to generate up to 20% of the total DRAM revenue in 2024 alone. Another significant factor in this revenue growth is the adoption of DDR5 DRAM in the server market, which is expected to contribute to a 40% revenue increase in 2024 and 60-65% the following year. For notebooks, LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X memory could result in revenue increases of 50% and 60%, respectively. DRAM memory prices are estimated to rise by 53% this year and 35% next year, driving higher revenue targets.
On the NAND flash side, the rising adoption of QLC flash in enterprise SSDs and UFS storage for smartphones is expected to significantly boost demand in 2025. AI servers are already using QLC SSDs extensively, with QLC expected to account for 20% of total NAND flash shipments in 2024. Chinese manufacturers will begin using UFS storage by the end of this year, while Apple plans to adopt it for its smartphones in 2026.
Source: TrendForce
