The world's three largest manufacturers of RAM and fast storage—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—are now the subject of a class action lawsuit alleging price-fixing and intentional supply limitations to maintain high costs. Filed in a federal court in California on June 25, the suit claims that consumers have been forced to pay "supracompetitive prices" for devices incorporating DRAM.
The core accusation is that these companies have deliberately restricted the supply of DDR3 and DDR4 RAM, components commonly found in PCs and consoles, while increasingly focusing production on HBM RAM, which is primarily used in AI data centers. In a competitive market, such price increases would typically incentivize more supply, but the lawsuit contends this has not occurred. The significant financial and time investment required to build advanced fabrication facilities makes it exceedingly difficult for new competitors to enter the market, leaving the supply chain largely controlled by these three entities.
This is not the first time SK Hynix and Samsung have faced such allegations. Both companies pleaded guilty to price-fixing DRAM in 2005, resulting in substantial fines from the U.S. Department of Justice. Micron, the sole American company among the three, reportedly avoided charges by cooperating with prosecutors. The current lawsuit references this past ruling and a more recent investigation by the Chinese government between 2016 and 2018, which also accused the companies of similar practices during a period of sharp RAM price increases.
The rising costs of RAM and SSDs have impacted a wide range of electronics manufacturers, from individual creators to major corporations like Apple. This trend has also been observed in the gaming console market, with manufacturers like Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo adjusting their prices upwards on multiple occasions. The persistent scarcity of components, despite high prices, has led to production challenges, as exemplified by Valve's experience with the Steam Deck, which launched at a higher price point and in limited quantities than initially anticipated.