Global memory chip crunch to persist even as Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron boost production

Significant worldwide shortages of memory chips are expected to persist well into 2027, according to analysts, even as the sector’s top manufacturers – Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology – move to boost production capacity.According to a report by Hangzhou-based Zheshang Securities, industry expansion plans through 2026 and 2027 were unlikely to bridge the global supply gap.Micron on Saturday said it aimed to meet global memory chip demand via its US$1.8 billion acquisition of a fabrication facility from Taiwanese firm Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, which is expected to close in the second quarter.This would enable “Micron to increase production and better serve our customers in a market where demand continues to outpace supply”, said Manish Bhatia, executive vice-president of global operations at Boise, Idaho-based Micron.Mass production of advanced dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips at the site is expected by 2027. The first phase of its operation is estimated to contribute over 10 per cent of Micron’s total global capacity relative to 2026 fourth-quarter levels, according to Taipei-based research firm TrendForce.That deal’s announcement came a day after the US chipmaker broke ground at its US$100 billion new manufacturing site in New York, where the company will produce high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence data centres. On the sidelines of the ceremony, Bhatia described the global memory chip shortage as “really unprecedented”, according to a Bloomberg report.Micron Technology is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of memory chips. Photo: Shutterstock