14 DAY TRIAL // The latest episode of the flooded HDD market saga is now in play, Hitachi being the main character this time.
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (GST) estimates that normal HDD supply will take a long time in coming.
Even though all those involved are doing their best to deal with the consequences of the Thai floods, there is only so much that can be done.
According to Hitachi's product vice president Brendan Collins, the supply chain will get back to what it used to be only at the end of 2012.
Hopefully prices of HDD will at least begin to fall by that time (so far, they have risen by over 50% and, in some extreme cases, even by up to 200%).
Unlike Seagate, Hitachi (and probably WD) has no plans to request brand vendors to sign year-long contracts.