There will be 3.8 million fewer PC shipments in the first quarter of 2012 due to the disastrous flooding in Thailand over the last few months, according to a report by market analysis firm IHS iSuppli.
IHS had previously predicted that there would be 88 million shipments of PCs around the world in the first quarter, but it has revised this figure downward to just 84.2 million. 2012's overall shipments have also been lowered from the previous expectation of 399 million to 376 million. As a result, global growth in the PC market will drop from 9.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent next year.
The primary reason for the drop is a severe shortage in hard drisk drives (HDD) caused by the Thailand flood. Without this storage it is impossible to ship ready-made computers to consumers and businesses. The shortage has led to existing HDD prices doubling at most shops.
“The PC supply chain says it has sufficient HDD inventory for the fourth quarter of 2011. However, those stockpiles will run out in the first quarter of 2012, impacting PC production during that period,” said Matthew Wilkins, senior principal analyst of compute platforms at IHS.
There is some hope for the HDD market, however, with Western Digital recently announcing a return to production at one of its previously flooded plants, but it will still take a number of months to restore supply.
IHS expects that by the end of 2012 HDD supply will have returned to normal or could even surpass normal capacity, leading to an inventory surplus, which would be an ironic twist of fate compared to the world's current predicament.
Read more: Thailand floods lead to 3.8 million fewer PCs in Q1 of 2012 by VR-Zone.com
Thailand floods lead to 3.8 million fewer PCs in Q1 of 2012
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