Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Market

Market Overview

The global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market size was valued at USD 96.99 billion in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 126.32 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 2.98% during the forecast period (2023–2031).The world is transitioning towards a smart city from the traditional city plan. The smart city consists of various smart equipment deployed on the IoT and ICT, increasing the demand for DRAM and driving the growth of global markets. Moreover, the surging demand for consumer electronics worldwide has led to increased production, especially the smartphone. This has propelled the global DRAM market growth. 

Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM/DRAM) is a form of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each data bit in a memory cell, which typically consists of a tiny capacitor and a transistor based on metal-oxide–semiconductor (MOS) technology. An integrated circuit stores data as a series of electrical charges in capacitors. It is a frequent random-access memory (RAM) found in personal computers, servers, smartphones, tablets, and workstations.

DRAM is a simple memory technology that only requires a single transistor and permits memory to be refreshed and deleted while a program runs. DRAM is more cost-effective and denser than static random-access memory (SRAM), allowing large amounts of memory to be installed in a single device. DRAM, therefore, has widespread applications in the IT and telecommunication, media and entertainment, defense and aerospace, medical and healthcare, and consumer electronics sectors.

Market Dynamics

Global DRAM Market Drivers

Growing Construction of Smart Cities

The expansion of smart cities is one of the primary growth drivers for the dynamic random access memory market. Smart cities are designed to integrate the Internet of Things and information and communication technology into urban infrastructure and enhance urban services' effectiveness. This is anticipated to increase the design, planning, and construction of technologically advanced buildings, infrastructure, and other structures.

In addition, DRAM is anticipated to be utilized in developing various IoT devices and others to create smart cities. Thus, the elevated number of new constructions worldwide under smart city projects will lead to increased demand for DRAMs. Consequently, with the global expansion of smart city initiatives, the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market will experience substantial expansion over the forecast period.

Rising Demand for Consumer Electronics

Consumer electronics like laptops/tablets, smartphones, and digital cameras have skyrocketed due to global urbanization and technological advancements. Zenith's Mobile Advertising Predictions states that mobile devices will contribute to 73% of global internet consumption by 2019. The increasing population, rising disposable income per capita, and the easy availability of high-speed internet and low-cost end-user products are the major contributors to the growing demand.

In addition, increased smartphone usage has increased the demand for handsets with robust processing capabilities, low power consumption, and large storage capacities. Therefore, this has surged the demand for DRAM. As a result, the increasing production of smartphones with robust processing and memory capabilities is anticipated to expedite the market during the forecast period.

Global DRAM Market Restraints

Slowdown in the Mobile Device Demand

The surging price sensitivity of ever-rising features in tablets and smartphones is also boosting fewer sales for such electronic devices. There has been a decrease in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, particularly in the high-end market segment. This loss might be attributed to customers' inclination to reduce expenditures on luxury items and prioritize important purchases. This is anticipated to decrease the demand for DRAMs on the market.

Moreover, the long life cycle of DRAMS allows for one-time investments in-memory solutions, barring severe damage. Therefore, the decrease in manufacturing demand for dynamic random-access memories (DRAMs) leads to heightened challenges for market suppliers.

Global DRAM Market Opportunities

Continuous Evolution of Mega Trends like Cloud Computing, AI, and IoT

The term cloud computing itself indicates a model to store data on the internet. Various data centers are outsourcing cloud computing for their customers, which is expected to drive the demand for DRAMS. The suppliers in the DRAM market have always relied on the Server industry for increased sales. The vast construction and investments for Data Centers worldwide are expected to drive the market. Moreover, the integration of 5G technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is anticipated to significantly impact smartphone apps, particularly in the realm of improved video capture and editing.

Furthermore, AI as a Service over the cloud is becoming popular in developed countries for predictive analysis and approaches. This is expected to fuel the requirements for DRAM. The Internet of Things (IoT) is anticipated to generate a heightened demand for data storage, which is also expected to drive market designs for low-cost and low-power consumption DRAM. The advent of IoT in the automotive industry has become a prominent hotspot for multipurpose applications. The Internet of Things is predicted to play a major role in creating new opportunities for DRAM in the automotive industry, from automated transport systems to connected cars.

Regional Analysis

Based on region, the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market is bifurcated into the United States, Europe, Korea, China, Taiwan, the Rest of Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World.

The United States Dominates the Global Market

The United States is the most significant global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market shareholder and is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 3.43% during the forecast period. The United States heavily relies on South Korea for the production of DRAM chips, with approximately half of the worldwide DRAM chip production capacity being maintained by South Korea. China and Taiwan account for almost half of the world's manufacturing. The nation requires more effective data processing systems, rapidly evolving technologies, and high data production across all industries. With the development of mobile and low-power devices, large on-chip caches, and high-end data centers, a new high-priority demand has emerged for non-volatile, dense, and energy-efficient memories, thereby fueling regional market development.

Additionally, numerous investments in semiconductors and electronics are occurring in the country, bolstering the market. For instance, GlobalFoundries (GF), the industry leader in producing semiconductors with a wealth of features, announced expansion plans for its most cutting-edge manufacturing facility in upstate New York over the coming years in July 2021. A new fab will be built on the same campus, doubling the site's capacity, as well as immediate investments to address the global chip shortage at Fab 8 (existing facility).

China is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 3.72% over the forecast period. The two predominant classifications of advanced microchips are memory and logic chips, with China making substantial investments in the development of its semiconductor sector, amounting to billions of dollars. With governmental support, the regional market players have been increasing their production capacities to meet the increasing global demand for DRAM. For instance, in March 2022, ChangXin Memory Technology (CXMT) announced its plan to manufacture DDR5 in the Chinese market. CXMT's ambitions ramped up recently due to significant investment from its parent company, Ruili Integration. The company aims to invest in more R&D and boost production facilities/capacity. After successful trials of DDR5 production, CXMT will be setting up its mass production units by the end of this year. The company plans to launch more advanced 17nm (LP) DDR5 and other advanced process memory chips in China, thereby boosting the regional market expansion.

The European government is coming up with various initiatives to drive greater self-reliance in the semiconductor market. For instance, in February 2022, the European Commission announced the European Chips Act with an initial investment of EUR 11 billion to strengthen research and development. The act aims to build strength in chip manufacturing and design. The act will help the European Union reach its digital transformation and environmental sustainability goals. In addition, regional companies focus on continuous product development to strengthen their market presence. For instance, in November 2021, Samsung announced a new memory technology in the form of LPDDR5X DRAM designed to drive growth throughout high-speed data service applications. As per the Ericsson Mobility Report by Ericsson, 404.47 million smartphone subscribers in Western Europe grew from 342.9 million smartphone subscribers in Western Europe in 2015. The increase in smartphone subscribers would contribute to the demand for DRAM in the market.

In Korea, the companies have been increasing the production of DRAM. In June 2022, SK Hynix will supply the Industry's First HBM3 DRAM to Nvidia Corporation. The company has begun the mass production of HBM3, the world's best-performing DRAM. With accelerating advancements in cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and big data, major global technology companies are seeking ways to process increasing volumes of data rapidly. In response to the launch of new CPUs by Intel Corporation and AMD that support DDR5 DRAM solutions for PCs and servers, South Korean suppliers are developing solutions to complement the arrival of the new CPUs. All these factors drive the regional market growth.

Segmental Analysis

The global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market is segmented by architecture and application.

Based on architecture, the global dynamic random-access memory market is bifurcated into DDR3, DDR4, DDR5, and DDR2/others. 

The DDR4 segment dominates the global market and is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period. The segment is projected to develop owing to increased demand for high-speed memory modules over the forecast period. Increased data traffic and storage requirements across various applications, such as computers, smartphones, servers, and so on, are some drivers driving the DDR4 Memory Module market forward. Computers employ DDR memory to store data temporarily. The larger the volume and pace of processes, the higher the frequency. DDR DRAMs are far more energy-efficient than previous generations, consuming less power and space.

Additionally, the companies are developing new products to cater to many customers. For instance, in February 2022, Lexar, a provider of flash memory solutions, is thrilled to announce the release of the Lexar ARES DDR4 Desktop Memory, which adds colorful RGB illumination and blazing-fast DDR4 overclocked performance to customer PC for an enhanced gaming experience. It's perfect for gamers looking to improve their gaming performance using overclocked memory.

The DDR5 era has arrived. Fast-performance computing pushes server environments' limits to process enormous volumes of data at extremely high speeds, from 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) to metaverse and augmented reality (AR). Similarly, following the arrival of DDR5-compatible CPUs, the computing landscape will likely transform, with growth expected to include gaming and mainstream PCs. The companies are developing new products to capture a wide market share and to increase their customer base. For instance, in May 2022, Lexar announced the release of its Lexar Ares DDR5 OC desktop memory. According to the manufacturer, the new RAM was created with PC gamers and enthusiasts in mind. The Lexar Ares DDR5 OC desktop memory supports Intel XMP 3.02 and DDR5 technology suited for the latest Intel Core processors platform. The memory is said to have a maximum clock speed of 5200MHz and a bandwidth of 1.63x that of DDR4 RAM.

Based on application, the global DRAM market is segmented into smartphones/tablets, PC/laptops, data centers, graphics, consumer products, automotive, and other applications. 

The smartphone/tablet segment owns the highest dynamic random access memory market share and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 3.12% during the forecast period. The potential of memory has been enhanced by the advent of emerging technologies, which allow for larger data storage capacity at a comparatively cheaper cost compared to the silicon chips commonly employed in popular consumer electronic products like cell phones and tablets. Moreover, there is a growing trend in the accumulation of users' daily data through the utilization of smartphone cameras. The size of smartphone photos has grown exponentially as the number of pixels has increased. The growth in high-capacity smartphone applications, including mobile games, is another reason driving higher storage capacity.

Furthermore, the utilization of mobile and tablet segments is soaring daily, boosting the studied market. Many market players are also expanding their production facilities, which drives the studied market. For example, Samsung announced the mass production of its new UFS-based LPDDR5 memory module in June 2021. (uMCP). It provides mid-range mobile devices with flagship performance by combining the newest UFS 3.1 NAND flash with the fastest LPDDR5 DRAM in a single chassis.

The consumer products include SSDs, Video cards, digital cameras, portable media players, gaming consoles, etc. Numerous business applications require constant uptime, high-performance storage devices, high reliability, and low power consumption. SSDs satisfy all of these business requirements. In addition, SSDs in enterprises temporarily store data persistently or cache data in volatile semiconductor memory and are intended for use in storage systems, servers, and direct-attached storage (DAS) devices. Clients who need fast and efficient solutions are increasingly adopting SSDs. Many premium computers and notebook manufacturers utilize this technology as the primary device memory, making them popular amongst clients. The growing adoption of SSDs in client systems is expected to spur the market's growth over the forecast period.

Recent Developments

• May 2023- Micron announced their plans to invest USD 3.7 billion in new DRAM chips in Japan.
• September 2023- Samsung Electronics, a global leader in advanced memory technology, developed the industry's first 32-gigabit (Gb) DDR5 DRAM1 using 12 nanometers (nm)-class process technology.