One of the world’s largest memory manufacturers has warned that RAM and storage shortages are unlikely to ease anytime soon, with constraints expected to persist well beyond next year as AI demand continues to surge.
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra addressed the issue directly during the company’s latest earnings call, saying the imbalance between supply and demand is likely to persist for years rather than months.
“Sustained and strong industry demand, along with supply constraints, are contributing to tight market conditions and we expect these conditions to persist beyond calendar 2026,” Mehrotra said during the call.
AI demand continues to outpace memory supply
According to Mehrotra, accelerating AI data center buildouts are driving a sharp upward revision in memory demand forecasts, leaving manufacturers unable to keep up.
“Over the last few months, our customers’ AI data center buildout plans have driven a sharp increase in demand forecast for memory and storage. We believe that the aggregate industry supply will remain substantially short of the demand for the foreseeable future,” he said.
He reiterated that the pressure spans both major memory categories.
“Together, these demand and supply factors are driving tight industry conditions across DRAM and NAND and we expect tightness to persist through and beyond calendar 2026,” Mehrotra added.
“Despite significant efforts, we are disappointed to be unable to meet demand from our customers across all market segments.”
Micron is not alone in issuing warnings. Fellow memory giants Samsung and SK Hynix have also signaled that constraints are likely to continue, citing the long timelines required to bring new manufacturing facilities online and concerns about overcapacity. Samsung has previously stated that it prefers maintaining long-term profitability over aggressively expanding production.
Micron expects its customers to adjust their product portfolios to align with available memory supply, underscoring how central DRAM and NAND availability has become to the broader technology market.
