A class-action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. alleging that the three leading DRAM manufacturers, namely Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix, are engaged in price-fixing and causing artificial scarcities to keep prices of computer memory high. Consumer DDR5 PC memory saw a near 700% inflation in price in a span of just 1 year, caused mainly by DRAM manufacturers allocating their production capacity to HBM stacks used by AI compute GPUs; and booking orders years into the future, which would keep a large percentage of their manufacturing capacity occupied with HBM production going as far into the future as 2030.
The lawsuit calls for PC memory manufacturers to restore consumer DRAM production and availability. Among the plenty of examples the lawsuit can cite, it mentions Apple's recent decision to increase the prices of all its products, including Macs and iPhones, citing escalating memory prices. The lawsuit alleges collusion and cartel-like behavior by Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix, to coordinate pricing. It also cites evidence of such activity in the past, specifically in the year 2000, where the U.S. Department of Justice fined these companies hundreds of millions of dollars, besides prison sentences for several company executives.