VAR warns of hard drive supply woes

Thai floods are causing supply problems across the industry, but Origin Storage has vowed not to increase its prices in the short term

Widespread flooding across Thailand will cause a global hard drive supply shortage, VAR Origin Storage has warned.

The region has been hit by the worst monsoon season for 50 years, causing widespread flooding and devastation.

Major manufacturers based in the region have issued warnings about the situation, with Western Digital being particularly hard hit, having two of its factories directly affected.

In a statement on its website, the vendor said: "The company now expects flooding of its Thailand facilities, combined with flood damage to the company's supply chain in Thailand, will have a significant impact on the company's overall operations and its ability to meet customer demand for its products in the December quarter."

Seagate is also affected by the floods and said in a statement on its website: "The hard disk drive component supply chain is being disrupted and it is expected that certain components in the supply chain will be constrained. Given the volatility of the situation, it is unclear what the magnitude of the supply chain disruption will be to Seagate's hard disk drive output from its Thailand operations.

"Seagate is actively managing its supply chain and factory output to align production capabilities and optimise its build schedule to meet customer requirements. As a result of the disruption caused by the floods, Seagate anticipates hard drive supply will be constrained throughout the current quarter."

Sony has ceased manufacture of its semiconductors due to supply shortages, and is also seeing its photo lens production affected as a result of factory closures.

Other major players Toshiba and Hitachi have not been directly affected, although Toshiba's factory has been closed due to evacuation orders from the Thai government.

Despite predicting sharp price rises and product constraint as a result of panic buying, Origin Storage has moved to reassure its customers.

In a statement, Andy Cordial, managing director of the storage specialist, said it would do "everything in its power" to hold pricing and ensure continuity of stock.

"We cannot see any improvement in supply in this quarter, and more than likely carrying on into next year," Cordial's statement said. "There will be no price hikes on all Origin solutions during November and we will update customers on the ongoing situation."