Submission + - Just how bad are hard drive prices going to get? (extremetech.com)
MrSeb writes: "Hard drive price are rocketing upwards due to the devastating floods in Thailand — and as bad as things are, there’s good reason to think they’re going to get a whole lot worse. The floods have affected different manufacturers to varying degrees. Thus far, Western Digital has been the hardest hit. Analysts from Noble Financial Equity Research have predicted that the company’s production will fall by nearly 60%, from 58 million units in Q3 down to 25 million in Q4. Samsung and Seagate are expected to see the smallest percentile declines, with Seagate expected to be the principle beneficiary of the supply shortage and subsequently higher pricing. Worldwide total Q4 hard drive production is expected to be about 120 million units, down from 176 million in Q3. ExtremeTech has plotted the prices of some popular hard drives, and the worst-hit (mostly 1TB models) have increased in price by over 200% since the Thailand floods. In short: Anyone who thinks they’ll need a hard drive in the next six months is best off buying it now."