Is this happening because of distribution being slow or they don't even make them yet?
The main reason DDR5 memory sticks aren't available boils down to an insufficient supply of power management ICs (PMICs) that are now installed on memory modules. Notably, DDR5 modules are the first generation of DDR memory that brings the PMICs on-module.
There aren't a lot of PMIC suppliers. The only PMICs validated by Intel are those from Renesas. In addition, Samsung has PMICs for its own modules. Other vendors that offer DDR5 PMICs include IDT, Montage Technologies, and Texas Instruments. Meanwhile, all of these companies (except, perhaps, Samsung and Renesas) have yet to ramp up the mass production of DDR5 PMICs, so lead times have extended, culminating in a shortage.
Because of the short supply, these PMICs are expensive. 12chip.com claims that they can be as much as 10 times more expensive than PMICs used for DDR4 memory subsystems. Furthermore, the procurement cycle is over 35 weeks long, suggesting we won't see a quick resolution to the issue.
