Computers expected to become pricier, Shortage of drives leads to 20% hike by Suchit Leesa-nguansuk
A shortage of hard-disk drives (HDD) has resulted in their prices spiking 20%, with computer prices expected to rise by 500 to 1,000 baht next month as a result.
While its Ayutthaya plant remains swamped, Japan’s Nidec Corp, which makes hard drive motors, resumed production at its factory in Pathum Thani on Tuesday.
Thailand's worst flooding in seven decades may lead to a global shortage of drives through the first quarter of next year, as Thailand is the world's second-largest exporter of HDDs behind China, with 25% of worldwide HDD assembly facilities located locally.
Panuwat Khantamoleekul, managing director of Supreme Distribution (Thailand), a local computer vendor under the DTK brand, said prices of entry-level HDDs with a capacity of 500 to 1,000 gigabytes had increased between 300 and 400 baht or 20% as a result of flooding.
Typically, computer makers and dealers have one to two months of HDDs in stock to avoid dynamic pricing and outdated technology risk.
Vira Intanate, chief executive officer of SVOA Plc, a local computer maker and distributor, said HDD prices rose by 25% in the market in the past two weeks and there was a shortage.
The ongoing merger and acquisition deal between Seagate and Toshiba along with Western Digital Corp (WDC) and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has also slowed HDD production the past few months.
"We are looking to outsource [HDDs] from other countries, particularly China, Hong Kong and Singapore," Mr Vira said.
Mr Panuwat added that prices of RAM (random-access memory), another computer component, also rose by 3-5%, and computer prices are expected to increase by 500 to 1,000 baht next month.
Fang Zhang, an analyst for storage at iSuppli, a global memory and storage market research firm, said WDC and Toshiba had temporarily halted production of HDDs in Thailand.
WDC, the world's largest HDD manufacturer by volume, has 37,000 workers in Thailand and production here accounts for 60% of the company's total capacity. In the second quarter WDC made 53.8 million drives, giving it a 32% share of the global market.
Toshiba employs 3,900 workers and approximately 50% of its manufacturing capacity is in Thailand. In the second quarter, Toshiba was the fourth-ranked HDD supplier, with 17.8 million units and a 10.6% share.
The HDD suspension assembly maker Hutchinson Technology also temporarily stopped operations in Ayutthaya due to flooding and a loss of power. It plans to increase output at its US plant and will use existing inventory to meet customer demand.
Japan's Nidec Corp restarted its motor factory No. 1 in Bangkadi Industrial Park in Pathum Thani on Tuesday, after production was halted due to floods. Its factories in Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya supply more than 70% of all global HDD motors.
Nidec's shares have been flirting with seven-month lows on concerns about the impact of the Thai floods on its supply chain. Nidec added it would start making HDD motors in the Philippines and China to offset lost output.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Computers expected to become pricier, Shortage of drives leads to 20% hike, 27/10/2011, Suchit Leesa-nguansuk, link)
|
