Market watcher TrendForce claims that Inotera, also known as Micron Technology Taiwan, has suspended one of its fabrication plants after the malfunction of its nitrogen gas dispensing system contaminated equipment in the facility.

TrendForce expects the impact of the fault will see the production of DRAM components go down by 5.5 percent in July, triggering price increases for memory products.

Trendforce implied that the supply chains were more constrained than a constipated elephant and this is just the sort of problem that it does not need. The Taiwanese factory produces components for PC, server and mobile DRAM products.

DRAM prices have doubled since last summer and HP, HPE and Dell have all highlighted component shortages as a problem in recent months.

TrendForce said that buyers and suppliers are currently assessing the impact of the Taiwanese factory, with some already hinting that price hikes are on the horizon.

Last month Trendforce said that the average selling price of DRAM products would increase by five per cent in Q3 compared with Q2 as manufacturing technology migration slows.