The DRAM Crisis: 600% Price Increases by Micron, SK Hynix, & Samsung

A new class-action antitrust lawsuit alleges that Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron engaged in coordinated supply restrictions and price-fixing of DRAM memory, creating an artificial shortage that increased prices by approximately 700% since 2022.

• Market concentration — The DRAM industry is highly consolidated with high entry barriers, creating an environment susceptible to coordinated price and supply manipulation [00:32].

• Simultaneous output cuts — The manufacturers aligned their strategies in late 2022 to restrict commodity DRAM supply while prioritizing high-bandwidth memory, despite conventional DRAM generating higher per-wafer margins [11:26].

• Customer vetting — The defendants adopted identical, rigorous questioning procedures for buyers, which analysts identify as a significant indicator of potential collusion [18:36].

• Irrational business moves — Micron shuttered its direct-to-consumer "Crucial" business channel at the height of its profitability, a decision that contradicts standard competitive behavior [17:23].

• Industry contrast — Smaller memory manufacturers unaffiliated with the major producers expanded their output during the shortage, demonstrating that supply increases were technically and financially feasible [15:57].

• Legal history — The three defendants previously faced antitrust convictions and fines for price-fixing cartels in the early 2000s [06:46].

• What is the difference between illegal price-fixing and conscious parallelism under antitrust law?

• How do annual contract negotiations for HBM compare to the quarterly negotiations for standard DRAM?