Global sales of computer disk drives may rise to a record next year on surging demand for storage devices in digital music players and other consumer electronics products, market researcher IDC said.
"There is a potential that revenue in the disk drive industry will exceed the record US$27 billion achieved in 1997," David Reinsel, director for storage research at IDC, told an industry conference in Bangkok today. Disk-drive sales reached US$23 billion last year, he said.
Seagate Technology and Western Digital Corp, the world's biggest disk-drive makers, have increased sales of their devices for use in portable music players, gaming consoles and DVD recorders, expanding beyond desktop and laptop computers.
Seagate said sales for its third quarter ending April 1 will rise 35 percent to US$1.87 billion.
By quantity, disk drive sales may reach almost 400 million units next year from about 300 million units last year, according to IDC.
"The biggest demand has come from consumer electronics such as MP3 players," Reinsel said.
Separately, Global Sources said in its latest market report that Taiwan's optical disc-drive suppliers are shifting toward higher-end production due to falling margins on CD-format products.
The Global Sources report dated March 2 said Taiwanese makers expect to ship 28 million DVD rewritable drives this year, up 65 percent from last year.
Taiwanese makers this year expect to ship 100 million optical drives and 11 billion discs, which represent 42 percent and 70 percent respectively of all global shipments, according to the report.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
RSS