For Cai, a trader in Shenzhen’s vast Huaqiangbei electronics hub, the business of assembling computers for gamers and corporate clients has suddenly become dramatically more expensive.
The price of memory products in Huaqiangbei has tripled over the past year amid the global artificial intelligence boom – and the spike has hit the world’s largest wholesale electronics market hard.
“Right now, memory and SSDs are the biggest cost drivers in a personal computer build,” Cai said, referring to solid-state drives – devices that can store data on a computer at high speed.
The memory supply squeeze is forcing vendors in Huaqiangbei to introduce significant price increases, which are putting off buyers, according to Cai. Only customers with an urgent need for a computer are currently willing to pay the premium, he said.
To make matters worse, Cai said he expected prices to climb even higher over the coming months.
Other traders echoed that view. Inside SEG Plaza, the skyscraper at the heart of Huaqiangbei, a vendor surnamed Ye said memory prices had in some cases risen fivefold in the past 12 months.
“The prices just kept rising since last year, and will continue to climb,” Ye said. “Those who stockpiled last year were able to make a big fortune.”