Western Digital Factory Under Water

GIntel

Why the cost increase on hard drives????

WD's production facility was severally impacted to the point that HDD supplies will be scarce.

For PCs etc, they are already forecasting component cost increases.

I do not have a lot of visibility into HDD procurement, but i would assume that the same factors would drive up MFP HDDs.

Expect the flooding to effect HDD pricing and supply for the next six months.

The floods are described to be the worst Natural disaster to hit the HDD industry. The worst flooding in Thailand in 50 years. Even if the factories are repaired, the surrounding infrastructure and transportation channels are damaged.

http://www.storagenewsletter.c...ignificant-impact-wd

Right.

And everyone better hope that Nidec's factories that were hit by the flood were not its printing related factories.

Few know Nidec, but they make a solid portion of the motors and brushes found in copiers

http://www2.nidec.co.jp/produc...ro/seen/seen_oa.html

http://www.nidec.com/admtypem/40m58m.pdf

Do you think Ricoh will be affected???

quote:

Originally posted by SalesServiceGuy:
Expect the flooding to effect HDD pricing and supply for the next six months.

The floods are described to be the worst Natural disaster to hit the HDD industry. The worst flooding in Thailand in 50 years. Even if the factories are repaired, the surrounding infrastructure and transportation channels are damaged.

http://www.storagenewsletter.c...ignificant-impact-wd

Gesh, did anyone see these pictures. 2011 the year of the "Copier Perfect Storm", we gotta raise prices!!!

SSG: I was trying to quote your thread and pressed the edit button by accident, did not changes anything, but thats the reason for the "edited by Art" sorry!

It depends of course on how much inventory Ricoh has on hand. But is has to effect all MFP vendors within the next few months.

It may not be as simple as switching to another brand of HDD supplier.

GIntel

Anything else on the Nidec factory???

Nidec's HDD parts factories were hit hard, but I now dont believe that its motors factories were hit.

So at least it looks like one part shortage and not two

Canon lowered expectations by some 50 billion yen due to flooding in Thailand.

Xerox said in its Q3 call that its HDD supplier was not hit and it will see no ill effects from the flood.

Also, one note about Canon. Not all of those 50M yen are about HDDs. Canon has inkjet MFP and low-end printer factories in Thailand that were hit, so much of that 50M may not have anything to do with HDD. We'll see.

http://www.pcworld.com/busines...s_research_firm.html

Notice Regarding Impact of Thailand Flooding and Revised Financial Results Outlook
Nov 14, 2011 TOKYO, Japan - Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson", TSE: 6724) today announced the latest situation about the effect on its businesses of the recent flooding in Thailand, and the subsequent impact on the full-year consolidated financial results outlook for the full year ending March 2012.

1. Flooding situation
There are two Epson Group companies in Thailand: Epson (Thailand) Co. Ltd., (Bangkok), and Epson Toyocom (Thailand) Ltd., (Chachoengsao Province). Epson has not received reports of any harm to its employees or of direct damage to its facilities as a result of the flooding

2. Impact on financial results
The impact of the Thailand flooding was unclear when Epson announced its second quarter business results on October 28. However, after carefully analyzing the situation regarding components procurement, the impact on manufacturing and sales, and the various countermeasures it has implemented, the company has decided to revise its outlook as follows.

Please note that the situation may change according to circumstances in Thailand. Epson will continue to analyze the situation, and will implement countermeasures aimed at minimizing the impact on its financial results.

Revised consolidated financial results outlook for the fiscal year ending March 2012 (April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2012) (Unit: billion yen, except where stated otherwise)

Net sales
Operating
income Ordinary
income
Net income
Net earnings per share (yen)
Previous
outlook (A) 910.0
33.0
31.0 10.0
50.15
Revised outlook (B) 907.0 31.0
29.0 8.0
40.12
Difference (B-A) -3.0 -2.0
-2.0 -2.0 -
Change (%) -0.3% -6.1%
-6.5% -20% -
Reference:
Previous year
(ending March 2011) 973.663 32.709
31.174
10.239 51.25

About Epson
Epson is a global imaging and innovation leader that is dedicated to exceeding the vision of customers worldwide through its compact, energy-saving, high-precision technologies, with a product line-up ranging from printers and 3LCD projectors for enterprise and the home, to sensors and other microdevices. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 78,000 employees in 99 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. http://global.epson.com/

Nidec is back up and running.

http://storagenewsletter.com/n...perations-bang-pa-in

1,000 Hitachi HDD workers on strike over compensation and purchase by Western Digital, further disrupting HDD supply chain.

http://storagenewsletter.com/n...e/hitachi-gst-strike

Toshiba America is now announcing HDD shortages for HDD over the next couple of months while it tries to obtain alternate supplies.

If Toshiba, a manufacturer of HDD, is having supply problems, chances are whatever brand you sell will have the same problems.

According to Hitachi VP, the HDD Industry Not Restoring to Normal Supply Until End of 2012

http://storagenewsletter.com/n...industry-not-restore

We're a Ricoh dealer and I'm seeing more and more under on the constrainment list.