NuAxiSemiconductor trade intelligence

[News] South Korea’s Chip Exports to China Surge 243% YoY in May as Beijing’s AI Push Fuels Memory Demand

What happened

South Korea's chip exports to China surged 243% YoY in May, driven by AI-related memory demand. This supply tightness caused conventional DRAM contract prices to spike 93-98% QoQ in 1Q26. Bullish for memory suppliers as Huawei's Ascend adoption continues to strain DRAM and HBM availability.

Impact and signal

High impactImpact score: 95/100

Affected components and suppliers

DRAM HBMMemory Chips

Samsung Electronics SK Hynix

price-hikeshortageAI-demandexport-surge

Source and time

Source: TrendForce · 6/2/2026 · View original source

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RAMmageddon? AI-driven memory shortage sends DRAM prices 'parabolic'DigiTimes Asia · 2/16/2026
RT NEWS: 🤔 South Korea's chip story is becoming one of value over volume. Export volume dropped 11.9% YoY, yet revenue surged more than 2.7x as dem...TrendForce Official (Market Data) · 6/11/2026
SK Group chairman says memory chip shortage will last until 2030 — wafer supply trails demand by 20%Tom's Hardware · 3/18/2026
Samsung, SK Hynix Seen Posting Record Q1 Profits as Memory Prices SurgeThe Elec · 4/3/2026
SK Hynix expected to post record profits in Q4The Elec · 1/21/2026
Five Myths about the Current Memory BoomSemiWiki · 7/26/2026

[News] South Korea’s Chip Exports to China Surge 243% YoY in May as Beijing’s AI Push Fuels Memory Demand

What happened

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

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