PC supply may be 10% short due to drive shortages
updated 06:00 am EST, Mon November 7, 2011
Hard drives supply to drop by 40 -50% in Q1 2012
The global supply of PCs could be short by up to 10 percent due to hard drive shortages caused by the extensive flooding in Thailand. According to Digitimes, vendors have supplies of inventory that will provide supplies for around four weeks. Manufacturers have supplies on hand will last for about one week. In total, the existing supplies of hard drives will ensure supplies remain steady throughout November, but shortages will begin to take effect in December.
Manufacturers reporting the shortages include HP, Dell and Acer. They have reportedly responded by shifting existing inventory to their most profitable lines, while some will temporarily cease production of their less profitable models.
Hard drive suppliers are reporting that they expect their shipments to decrease by as much as 40 to 50 percent in the first quarter of 2012. Normal production is not expected to resume to pre-flood levels until February to March at best.
