HDD supply issues will hit their peak in January, and are expected to begin to ease in March.

Digitimes reported that the short supply of hard disk drives (HDDs) in the Taiwan retail market due to the impact of flooding in Thailand is expected to peak in January 2012 and begin to ease in March, according to sources from local retail channels.

Global HDD production was at about 180 million units in the third quarter, but the floods resulted in a drop to only around 110-120 million units in the fourth quarter, he sources said. HDD production will reach 140-150 million units in first-quarter 2012, still less than the pre-flood level, and therefore, the HDD market is unlikely to see sharp price drops in the near future.