Analysis: From 2027 to 2028, actual orders for storage chips will far outstrip supply capacity, and the impact of Democratic Party policies is unlikely to alter the supply-demand pattern.

South Korean securities firm Meritz Securities pointed out that memory chip makers currently have far more 2027-2028 orders than their production capacity. Even if the U.S. Democratic Party gains an upper hand in the midterm elections, leading to delays or adjustments in some data center projects, it will not fundamentally reverse the memory chip supply shortage. Meritz noted that this year, memory chip order fulfillment rates (the ratio of available supply capacity to order volume) have stayed at a low 80% to 85%, driving sharp increases in memory chip prices. It forecasts the supply-demand gap will further widen by 2027, with the order fulfillment rate possibly dropping to around 80%. Separately, during OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s recent visit to South Korea, he requested custom storage products including HBM from SK hynix and Samsung Electronics for 2027-2030, with demand even exceeding the two firms’ available supply capacity. Community user Teng Yan added that Samsung stated in an October 29 conference call with Meritz that it has signed multi-year storage supply agreements with 10 major clients, while an equal number of clients are in negotiations. Storage demand has also expanded beyond cloud service giants and AI server manufacturers to more sectors. As such, the slowdown in U.S. data center approvals will only impact a portion of orders and is unlikely to alter the overall tight supply-demand landscape.