DDR2 Contract Prices Surge as AI Memory Demand Tightens Legacy DRAM Supply

TrendForce data cited by Tom's Hardware indicates that DDR2 contract prices rose about 55% to 60% in the second quarter of 2026 and could increase another 35% to 40% in the third quarter. The pressure appears to be an indirect effect of AI infrastructure demand: major DRAM makers have prioritized HBM and server DRAM, reducing attention to mature-node products and tightening supply across older memory generations. As DDR4 availability worsened, some buyers shifted to DDR3, and in some cases to DDR2, pushing demand into a market served by only a small number of suppliers. Winbond is reportedly reducing DDR2 output while ESMT expands production through PSMC, but replacement capacity is not arriving fast enough to offset the shift. For the memory market, this is another sign that shortages are cascading deeper into legacy DRAM segments rather than remaining isolated to leading-edge products.