Samsung Mobile Experience has asked suppliers to reduce smartphone production volumes by 20 to 30 percent for Q4, the months of October through December, according to a report from Korea's Money Today.

The report says Samsung now expects roughly 200 million smartphone shipments for the year, down from earlier estimates near 270 million.

Money Today identifies a 175 percent increase in pricing for 12GB LPDDR5X RAM as a principal factor behind the production adjustment. The outlet reports that MX reached out to component and manufacturing partners to scale back planned output for the final quarter.

RAM price surge cited

The report singles out the 12GB LPDDR5X price spike as a key driver of the decision, citing the scale of the increase as materially affecting unit costs for higher memory configurations. The 20 to 30 percent reduction in supplier orders applies specifically to Q4 production schedules.

Historically Samsung's Q4 smartphone production is already lighter than other quarters because of the companys Galaxy S series launch cycle in January and February, a timing detail noted in the same report.