Micron Blames Apple's Aggressive Pricing for Prolonged Global Memory Shortage

Micron, one of the world's leading memory chip manufacturers, has publicly blamed Apple for the ongoing global memory crisis, claiming that Apple's aggressive pricing strategy during the last industry downturn led to underinvestment in new production capacity. According to Micron, Apple and other major customers took advantage of the market slump to secure memory chips at rock-bottom prices, which ultimately discouraged suppliers from expanding manufacturing and contributed to today's persistent shortages.

Sumit Sadana, Chief Business Officer at Micron, stated that the company directly informed Apple and other clients years ago that pushing for lower prices was "not constructive" for the industry. He emphasized that such strategies would have long-term consequences for supply and profitability.

Micron attributes the current supply crunch to the aftermath of these pricing pressures. As Sadana explained, "A lot of the industry investments got shut down in 2023 because of really poor pricing and really poor margins." With manufacturers reluctant to invest in new fabrication plants, capacity growth has lagged behind soaring demand — especially as resources are increasingly diverted to high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a type of memory used in AI applications. This shift leaves less production capacity for traditional DRAM and NAND chips, which are essential for PCs, gaming systems, and SSDs.

To stabilize its business, Micron has signed 16 long-term contracts with major clients, setting price ranges for memory chip deliveries from 2026 to 2030. These agreements guarantee Micron a minimum price for its products while also protecting customers with price ceilings if market rates spike. The company expects these contracts to account for about 40% of its total revenue, with the remainder sold on the open market.

Despite ongoing efforts to expand capacity, Micron forecasts that the global memory shortage will persist for several years. The company's leadership notes that building new manufacturing plants is becoming increasingly expensive and complex, further limiting how quickly supply can catch up with demand. Meanwhile, Apple's pricing practices have drawn additional scrutiny. Between 2016 and 2025, the price of Apple's highest-end iPhone rose by 60%, far outpacing the 37% increase in the US consumer price index over the same period.

Do you think the growing demand for AI memory could make RAM and SSDs even more expensive or scarce for regular users and gamers?