StorageIndustry Chain Price SurgeContinues, End Enterprises Under Pressure
In December 2025, the upward trend in prices across the storage industry chain has intensified, affecting the entire chain from the capital market to the spot market, and from upstream manufacturing to end products. The memory index has continued to strengthen, core component prices have soared, wafer foundry price hikes have been implemented, and end enterprises such as Apple are facing pricing challenges.
In the capital market, the storage sector has performed brightly. On December 25th, following a rise the previous day, the memory index rose by another 2%. Jiangbolong rose by approximately 5%, Demingli by 3.8%, and Xiangnong Core Innovation surged by over 6%, with institutional capital inflows exceeding 1 billion yuan on a single day. Over the past week, the index has increased by 3.6% cumulatively, with Beijing Junzheng rising by more than 13% and Demingli by over 7%, indicating strong sector momentum.
Prices in the spot market have even been changing “daily”. In Huaqiangbei’s DRAM market, the price of 32GB memory modules has soared from less than 800 yuan at the beginning of the year to over 2,200 yuan, and the price of a complete configuration with DDR5 memory modules and a 1TB hard drive is 1,200-1,500 yuan higher than at the start of the year. On e-commerce platforms, the price of Kinno DDR4 32GB products has risen from less than 700 yuan in October to around 1,100 yuan, while the price of Kingston 1TB solid-state drives has increased from over 300 yuan in early February to more than 800 yuan. Industry insiders stated that the price surge began in September: the price of DDR4 8GB memory modules has doubled, and some DDR5 models have exceeded 2,000 yuan.
Behind the price increases are increased investment and production capacity adjustments in the industrial sector. SK Hynix emphasized that the semiconductor industry has entered an era of “money-burning competition”. The investment in the Cheongju M15X cleanroom has reached 20 trillion won, a sharp increase of 167% compared to similar projects in 2019. The company plans to invest over 600 trillion won to build wafer fabs in the Yongin industrial cluster and will invest 42 trillion won over the next four years. On the wafer foundry side, SMIC has already raised quotes for some production capacity by 10%, and Powerchip is also considering a price increase.
End enterprises are under significant cost pressure, and the pricing of the iPhone 18 series is in a dilemma. The price of 12GB LPDDR5X has risen from 25-29 US dollars at the beginning of the year to 70 US dollars, an increase of 230%. It is rumored that the iPhone 18 will adopt a six-channel LPDDR5X configuration, but Apple’s supplier options are limited, as Samsung accounts for 60%-70% of storage shipments. Its long-term contracts with Samsung and SK Hynix will expire in January next year; if costs cannot be controlled, the iPhone 18 may face a price increase. The market warns that DRAM shortages are expected to persist until the fourth quarter of 2027, and cost pressures on the mobile phone industry will be difficult to ease.
Industry analysis indicates that the current price surge stems from structural shortages caused by AI occupying production capacity. As AI’s demand for storage continues to grow, the price increase trend may persist. Cost control and competitive patterns across all links of the industrial chain will become the key to enterprises’ core competitiveness.