New York – Production of hard disk
drives (HDD) and digital cameras is being severely curtailed due to the
flooding in Thailand, said IHS.
The HDD industry will see a
fourth-quarter output decline of 27.7 percent, down to 125 million units, from
173 million made during the third quarter. This is the largest drop since the
fourth quarter of 2008 when the recession had reached its deepest point.
This production downturn will
result in a significant HDD shortage for the next two quarters, forcing up HDD
prices for both OEMs and consumers by at least 10 percent in the short term and
perhaps hitting 30 percent later in the year.
Western Digital is likely to lose
its status as the world’s largest supplier of HDDs as 60 percent of its
production capacity has been shut down due to the floods. Toshiba can also
expect to drop, as it makes 50 percent of its drives in the affected zones.
The laptop market will be among the worst hit, with
shortages having an impact starting early next year. However, IHS said it believes
the situation will begin to rectify itself by the second quarter as production
comes back online and other HDD sources.
In the digital camera market, Sony, Nikon and Canon have all
had manufacturing halted or slowed, forcing these companies to decrease
shipments through the first quarter of 2012.
