Micron Exits Crucial Consumer RAM to Power AI Data Centers
The withdrawal of Micron’s Crucial brand from the consumer market is far more than the loss of a popular retail label; it represents a structural “evacuation” of the consumer electronics supply chain. By pivoting its 23-25% share of global DRAM capacity exclusively toward AI data centers, Micron is effectively removing a primary pillar that held up the consumer market.
Here is an emphasis on how this move is triggering a cascade of scarcity and inflation across the globe.
A Massive Structural Shortage
- Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix (who control 92% of the market) are all racing to produce High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for AI chips like Nvidia’s.
- With Micron abandoning Crucial-branded products by February 2026, the retail market loses the brand that often set the “price floor.” This leaves consumers at the mercy of a duopoly (Samsung and SK Hynix) that is already sold out through 2026.
- Analysts expect memory costs to add roughly $96 to even basic office PCs in 2026. Laptops from Dell and HP are already seeing 15–20% price hikes.
- DRAM inventory levels at suppliers have plummeted from 13-17 weeks in late 2024 to just 2-4 weeks in late 2025.
- AI giants like Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Alibaba, and ByteDance are placing open-ended, take-all-you-can-produce orders, absorbing supply before it even reaches distributors.
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The “Bill of Materials” (BoM) for budget phones has surged 20–30%. Manufacturers like Xiaomi and Realme are warning that these costs must be passed to the consumer or absorbed through specification downgrades (e.g., returning to 4GB RAM base models).
- The crisis extends beyond RAM. Tantalum capacitors, essential for power delivery in AI servers, are seeing 15–30% price increases as Panasonic and Yageo prioritize high-margin enterprise orders
- Component distributors in tech hubs like Shenzhen and Tokyo have moved away from monthly price lists. Quotes now expire daily or even hourly, mimicking the volatility of a stock exchange.
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To combat hoarding, major electronics stores (like those in Akihabara) have begun limiting purchases to 8 products per customer across RAM and SSDs.
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Sources
The AI frenzy is driving a memory chip supply crisis (2025, December 2). https://www.reuters.com/world/china/ai-frenzy-is-driving-new-global-supply-chain-crisis-2025-12-03/https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/11/4/china-slams-netherlands-for-chip-supply-snarls-tied-to-nexperia#:~:text=The%20Dutch%20government%20took%20control,threat%20to%20European%20economic%20security.https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3336048/beijing-urges-dutch-government-push-china-visit-nexperia-execshttps://electronica.de/en/trade-fair/journalists/press-releases/detail/final-report-electronica-2024.html
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