Global PC market contracts as AI drives RAM shortage

Worldwide PC shipments fell 5 % in Q2 2026, the first decline since early 2024, as soaring demand for high‑bandwidth DDR5 memory by AI data centres pushed RAM prices up 80‑90 % quarter‑on‑quarter. Manufacturers such as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are reallocating production to meet AI needs, leaving less memory for notebooks, desktops and smartphones and driving up device costs or canceling builds.

In Germany, the digital sector still expects overall growth, with IT‑hardware revenues rising on price effects while sales of PCs, tablets and smart‑home devices drop. The BITKOM association forecasts a 5.4 % rise in IT software revenue, propelled by cloud and AI services, but warns that Germany’s share of the global IT market is slipping behind the United States and China.

Analysts anticipate that the RAM shortage will persist until at least early 2028, keeping consumer‑grade hardware volumes suppressed and reinforcing the divide between large firms with long‑term supply contracts and smaller players that feel the cost pressures most acutely.