Now might just be a better time to snag it than later. I received a press release this morning from Western Digital detailing how the flooding in Thailand is going to impact their ability to produce hard drives to meet the demands.
Long story short: they're thinking they won't be able to manufacture enough to meet the demand for the holiday season. Greater demand than supply usually means higher prices until they can get this all sorted out.
Western Digital supplies around one-third of all HDDs. Around 60% of ALL HDDs are manufactured in Thailand.
After further research, it also looks like Hitachi GST and Seagate Technology, are also dealing with similar issues. Seagate's production facilities are fine but the local companies who produce essential components for their drives may not be able to produce them.
Here's Western Digital's Release:
IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today announced that it has extended the suspension of its operations in Thailand. Over the weekend, rising water penetrated the Bang Pa-in Industrial Park flood defenses, inundating the company's manufacturing facilities there and submerging some equipment. At the other company manufacturing location in Thailand, Navanakorn Industrial Park, the park flood defenses were breached on Monday morning local time and water has begun to flow into the park threatening the company's facilities there. All WD employees in Thailand remain safe.
The company's other facilities in Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S. are fully operational. The company now expects that the flooding of its Thailand facilities, combined with flood damage to the company's supply chain in Thailand, will have significant impact on the company's overall operations and its ability to meet customer demand for its products in the December quarter. The company will provide further updates on the situation on its investment community conference call on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
Thanks for the info Kayla! Have passed it on to DH, who I know was considering a new one for our photo storage.
Posted by: Cheri | 17 October 2011 at 12:15 PM