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HDD: Things can be even worse
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    Western Digital and Samsung will not supply hard drives to Taiwan channels in November

    As floods in Thailand have seriously impacted the hard drive supply chain, Western Digital recently notified its distributors in Taiwan that the company will not distribute any hard drive supplies to Taiwan in November. Samsung Electronics is also not supplying any hard drives to Taiwan in November and will shift shipments for the use of its own-brand PC products, according to sources from channel retailers.

    Currently, channel supplies can only last until mid-November, the sources noted.

    With expectations of a supply shortage, PC brand vendors and channel retailers are already competing to fill their hard drive inventories. Meanwhile, hard drive makers have also set up a strategy to reduce their supply to retail channels, preventing their brand clients from purchasing hard drives from retail channels, while also increasing their bargaining power over brand vendors over the next two quarters.

    The increase in hard drive prices has also impacted consumer demand in the PC DIY market with sales of motherboards and processors being affected.


    Via: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111102PD223.html

    I see real panic in local computer systems suppliers.
  • 4 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    If you want my advice, go and get 2Tb external drives in big stores. Some of them are very slow.
    Because problems can last as long as 6-7 months.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    Because of the increasing global shortage of hard disk drives arising from the flooding in Thailand, PC vendors have searched HDDs available for sale in gray markets, causing hikes in gray market prices from US$45 to over US$100 for a 500GB HDD and from US$35 to US$60-70 for a 320GB model, according to Taiwan-based PC supply chain makers.

    Due to the uncertainty of the HDD industry's future, vendors' concerns over shortages have grown deeper, causing them to look everywhere to fill their inventory.

    The sources described the brand vendors going into a "panic" to fill their HDD inventory. Most have repeatedly placed orders to HDD makers with combined volume already double or even triple their usual demand, but since HDD makers can only reply that they have no more inventory, or cannot provide their supply status, the vendors have turned to the gray market.

    PC brand vendors also analyzed the situation and pointed out that considering a mainstream PC is priced about NT$25,000-28,000 (US$827-926), if the price of a 320GB hard drive rises US$30, the cost for the PC will increase about 4%. If the PC is a high-end model, the vendors should be able to absorb the cost, but if the PC is a mainstream model, vendors are likely to observe the market status before deciding whether to increase prices.

    As for ultrabooks, since most PC brand vendors except Acer only adopt solid state drives (SSD) for their ultrabook models, shortages of HDD may boost demand for ultrabooks, the sources noted.

    The sources also revealed that Japan-based HDD motor supplier Nidec has had close to 2,000 sets of equipment damaged by the floods which may take more than two years to fully recover. The sources pointed out that Nidec is currently seeking equipment from the related industry players, but the claims have not yet been confirmed by Nidec.

    The sources added that once equipment is submerged in water, the machines will need to be replaced. Earthquakes tend to be less disastrous as equipment typically only needs to be reset before resuming operations.

    Via: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111104PD207.html

    Go and buy large external HDD, as I said. Better USB 3.0 one.
  • stoneystoney
    SSD price has gone up too.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    The sources pointed out that the Japan-based connector makers' equipment in Thailand has been completely submerged by the flood waters, meaning makers will not be able to quickly resume production since the damage may take at least half of a year to fully recover. To avoid supplies from being cut off, makers will need to conduct large-scale outsourcing to fill the gap.
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