DDR4 and DDR5 Memory Price Growth Pauses While DDR3 and NAND Prices Continue Rising

• January 29, 2026

Last week, the steady price increases for DDR4 and DDR5 memory modules halted, marking a notable shift in the semiconductor market. According to industry analysts at TrendForce, this pause emerged after a peak in spot trading activity for DDR4 and DDR5 chips from January 21 to 27, just before the Chinese New Year holiday period.

During this time frame, the prices for DDR4 and DDR5 reached a localized maximum, prompting a slowdown in further price hikes as market participants awaited the holiday-related slowdown in production and trading. Meanwhile, the older DDR3 memory market and NAND flash storage continued to experience price growth, driven by ongoing demand and supply dynamics.

TrendForce’s observations highlight a divergence in the memory market where next-generation DDR4 and DDR5 segment movements have stabilized temporarily, contrasting with the older DDR3 technology and NAND chips that are still appreciating in value. This split reflects differing supply-demand balances across various memory and storage categories.

Memory Market Trends and Impact

The pause in DDR4 and DDR5 price increases comes amid evolving inventory and consumption patterns in the semiconductor sector ahead of major manufacturing pauses during the Lunar New Year. The sustained growth in DDR3 and NAND pricing indicates continued pressure in legacy memory and storage markets, areas often influenced by different end-user requirements and production cycles compared to newer memory standards.

These developments underscore the complexity of memory market economics, where multiple generations of technology coexist and their pricing evolves according to supply constraints, manufacturing capacity, and demand from computing, mobile, and data center industries.

Looking forward, the sector will be closely monitoring how market conditions adjust once production and trading resume post-holiday. Changes in supplier inventories, customer orders, and macroeconomic factors will play critical roles in shaping the next phase of price movements across DDR and NAND categories.

Memory market sees a pause in DDR4 and DDR5 price increases, while DDR3 and NAND prices keep climbing amid recent trading activity.