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Rising electronics prices have for months been blamed on increasingly expensive RAM and flash memory used in SSDs. Now the matter has taken on a whole new dimension. The world's three largest memory manufacturers have been sued in the United States, accused of illegally fixing prices and restricting production. If the allegations are proven, it could be one of the biggest antitrust cases in the tech industry in recent years. For now, the companies are firmly denying all the charges.
Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron accused of price-fixing
A class action filed in California targets Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, which account for the vast majority of global DRAM production and a significant share of the NAND Flash market. According to the plaintiffs, the manufacturers jointly curtailed production of DDR3 and DDR4 memory while redirecting manufacturing capacity to the more profitable HBM chips used in data centres serving artificial intelligence. The plaintiffs say this led to a sharp rise in prices for memory used in computers, consoles and many other electronic devices. The suit even alleges price increases of up to 700 percent over the past four years. The plaintiffs claim the manufacturers violated US antitrust laws by coordinating their actions instead of competing fairly. If the allegations are proven, similar conduct could also breach European competition rules. For now the proceedings are at an early stage and no rulings have been made. However, the case could have huge implications for the entire tech industry.
Manufacturers reject the allegations, but history has seen similar cases
Companies named in the lawsuit deny accusations of price-fixing. Micron has already officially denied the allegations, while Samsung and SK Hynix argue that production changes stem from the huge demand for memory used by the AI sector. It is worth recalling, however, that the memory industry has been involved in similar cases before. In 2005 Samsung and SK Hynix admitted participating in a price-fixing cartel involving DRAM and paid multimillion-dollar fines. Some managers were then sentenced to prison for coordinating prices between manufacturers. The European Commission also ran similar proceedings against the largest memory makers, imposing heavy fines. The current case, however, concerns a completely different market situation tied to the rapid growth of AI and the rising demand for modern memory chips. The outcome of the case could affect not only semiconductor manufacturers but also the prices of consumer electronics purchased by millions of users around the world.
Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have been sued in the US over allegations they formed a price‑fixing cartel in the DRAM and NAND memory markets. The companies deny the allegations, but if the claims are confirmed it could explain the sharp rise in prices of many electronic devices.
source: flatpanelshd
