SK Hynix has broken ground on a new nearly-$13 billion memory-chip plant. While it shouldn’t pose an immediate threat to its rival Micron Technology investors should keep an eye on rising manufacturing capacity across the industry.

But memory is a notoriously cyclical sector, prone to bouts of overbuilding during the boom time which leads to gluts in a downturn. Demand for memory is expected to outstrip supply until at least the middle of next year when substantial new manufacturing capacity will come online. That will include SK Hynix’s new Cheongju packaging plant, which is expected to begin testing operations in October 2027, followed by packaging in February 2028.

Micron is expected to begin wafer output from a $50 billion expansion of its facilities in Idaho around the middle of next year. SK Hynix’s $21 billion Yongin cluster should reach volume production in late 2027, followed by further additions in 2028 and Micron’s $100 billion New York project in 2030.