Lenovo has notified its North American channel partners of impending hardware price increases, driven largely by a renewed chip shortage that is tightening supply across the PC and server market. Surging demand for AI infrastructure has strained global production of critical memory components such as DRAM and NAND flash, pushing up procurement costs for device manufacturers and squeezing margins. As semiconductor suppliers prioritize high-margin data center and AI customers, PC vendors are facing reduced allocation and higher spot pricing, forcing them to pass costs downstream to distributors and enterprise buyers. The move underscores how persistent imbalances in the semiconductor supply chain — especially in memory and advanced node production — continue to ripple through the broader hardware ecosystem, raising prices and limiting flexibility for OEMs and customers alike.