Team Group CEO: 16GB DDR5 Contract Price Hits $48, Shortage Persists

The contract price of a 16GB DDR5 chip reached $48 in September 2026, up from $8.70 in October 2025. The pricing change was reported as an increase of more than 550% over 12 months. Chen Ching-wen discussed the shortage during Team Group’s November 2 earnings call.

Chen expects the memory-chip shortage to worsen from the end of 2026 through the end of 2027. BigGo Finance quoted him saying there was “no downward price trend whatsoever.” He warned that some buyers could reach a point where “even money can’t buy goods.”

Short-term supply trades at a 30% to 50% premium to contract prices. Chen said Team Group has contracts but cannot obtain enough volume. The company must buy on the spot market and pay a premium to secure supply. The $8.70 and $48 figures describe contract prices, not spot transactions.

When will memory supply balance?

Chen expects supply and demand to remain unbalanced until the latter half of 2028, or possibly later, sustaining upward pressure across both contract and spot markets. His estimate places any recovery after the 2026-2027 shortage period. He framed the problem by asking how prices could fall when nothing remained in the market.

He also expects pricing for budget components to remain firm until 2029. High-end chips will continue to face shortages, he said. Chen offered no fab capacity figure or committed supply schedule for either date. Those dates remain forecasts, not confirmed supply milestones. His outlook also keeps constrained supply ahead of demand across both high-end and budget segments.

The AI data-center build-out continues, keeping memory demand elevated despite the forecast of prolonged scarcity. Many Americans voted against the build-out, yet it continues. That backdrop leaves PC makers competing for constrained components while consumers absorb higher prices.

Consumers have faced nearly continuous increases in the prices of PC parts and components over the past several months. Buyers would welcome an end to those increases.

Can Chinese suppliers ease the shortage?

Chen said CXMT and YMTC have increased their market share to almost 10%. Their additional output has not displaced the leading high-end suppliers. Kioxia, Micron, Samsung and SK hynix still provide most high-end DRAM and NAND flash chips, according to Chen.

Chen said the chips made by CXMT and YMTC still track broader market prices, so their share gains have not delivered the expected relief for buyers seeking budget components. Most high-end supply remains concentrated with the four established suppliers. Broader market pricing remains the reference for the smaller producers’ products. Neither Chinese company has emerged as a budget-market savior, Chen said.

When might mainstream prices fall?

Acer CEO Jason Chen expects component pricing to reverse in the second half of 2027. He expects shortages to persist mainly for high-end products, including LPDDR5X-9600 memory and Nvidia N1-series SoCs. Mainstream parts would become easier to buy and cheaper as supply improves.

His forecast sets this PC pricing schedule:

• PC component prices rise 5% to 20% through the end of this year.
• Prices plateau during the first half of 2027.
• Prices decline during the second half of 2027.

Jason Chen also claimed that most major suppliers seek to prolong shortage conditions for as long as possible to preserve margins. His statement attributes pricing strategy to those suppliers but does not establish their intent independently.

The two executives agree that high-end supply remains tight. They disagree on when mainstream pricing eases: late 2027 versus 2029. Contract prices, spot premiums and available volume will decide whether the shortage persists, and current information cannot establish which executive’s timing will prove correct.

The next test will be whether supply and demand rebalance in late 2028 or earlier, and whether contract prices respond before budget components reach buyers.