Recent South Korean customs import and export statistics reveal a significant monthly spike in DRAM and NAND flash memory prices, highlighting a structural supply-demand imbalance in the global memory market driven by AI demand. Among these, NAND flash product prices surged by 63.1% month-over-month, HBM memory prices increased by 18.7%, and bare DRAM chip prices also rose by over 20%. This data covers the period from late April to May 10, 2026. Compared to the same period last year, price increases across major categories generally ranged from 165% to 500%. Major manufacturers such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are accelerating production expansion. However, Samsung noted that supply-demand tightness in the memory market in 2027 could intensify further compared to 2026. New wafer fabs require at least two to three years from groundbreaking to mass production, making a substantial supply-side relief unlikely in the short term. DRAM and HBM: AI Supercycle Fuels Demand Surge According to South Korean customs data, bare DRAM chip prices (excluding memory modules) increased by 20.9% from late April to May 10, with a year-over-year rise approaching 500%. This year-over-year figure directly reflects the profound impact of AI computing power expansion on DRAM demand. HBM, a core component for AI servers, saw prices rise 18.7% month-over-month, with a year-over-year increase of 165.5%. HBM is currently a key memory solution for AI chip platforms like Nvidia's, and its price trend directly affects downstream data center construction costs. Memory products based on DRAM modules (covering specifications like UDIMM, SODIMM, and RDIMM under the DDR5 standard, as well as standard DDR and LPDDR formats) experienced a slight month-over-month decline of 13.9%. However, considering the overall memory category, the composite month-over-month increase remained at 28.8%, with a year-over-year rise of 326.3%. NAND Flash Leads Monthly Gains, Quarterly Increase Could Reach 75% NAND flash was the category with the most pronounced increase in this round of price hikes. Data shows NAND flash product prices rose 63.1% month-over-month, with a year-over-year surge of 351.6%. Market research firm TrendForce points out that enterprise contract price increases are particularly notable: contract prices for SSDs based on MLC NAND rose approximately 50%, while those based on SLC NAND increased about 20%. The industry's focus has clearly shifted towards AI-oriented memory products, with manufacturers like Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Kioxia accelerating their presence in this segment. Following the current trend, TrendForce anticipates NAND prices will accumulate an increase of 70% to 75% within this quarter. Consumer SSD Market Shows Divergence: Weak PC Demand Depresses Spot Prices Despite continuous price increases for enterprise and AI-related memory products, the consumer side shows a clear divergence. TrendForce data indicates that spot prices for TLC NAND-based SSDs targeting the consumer market have fallen 30% to 40%. This downward pressure stems from a noticeable slowdown in PC market demand. High-price environments have dampened consumer purchasing intent, leading to inventory buildup for general consumer-grade SSDs and subsequent pressure on spot prices. Consequently, price trends in the enterprise and consumer memory markets are moving in opposite directions. This divergence in supply-demand structure is accelerating the reshaping of profit distribution across the entire NAND flash industry chain.