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Ocean Chen, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Monday 19 December 2011]
The short supply of hard disk drives (HDDs) in the Taiwan retail market due to the impact of flooding in Thailand is expected to peak in January 2012 and begin to ease in March, according to sources from local retail channels. Global HDD production was at about 180 million units in the third quarter, but the floods resulted in a drop to only around 110-120 million units in the fourth quarter, he sources said. HDD production will reach 140-150 million units in first-quarter 2012, still less than the pre-flood level, and therefore, the HDD market is unlikely to see sharp price drops in the near future. Currently, most of the HDD makers are reportedly using their operatinal capacities to manufacture models that offer better gross margins. Western Digital is said to be mainly manufacturing its Caviar Black series, boosting the price of 500GB Caviar Black hard drive to NT$3,600-3,800 (US$119-125), up from NT$2,600-2,800 originally, while the price of 500GB Caviar Blue hard drives also rose to NT$2,600-2,800 from NT$1,300-1,400. However, HDD makers have dismissed the rumors about selective production, saying that supply of most of the upstream materials is still in shortage and their output has been determined by the materials available. 
Hard disk drives
Photo: Digitimes file photo
Categories: Storage, peripherals Systems Tags: HDD Taiwan Taiwan market
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