BELLEVUE, Wash.—Thanks to higher average selling prices (ASPs) in the wake of supply disruptions caused by last year's rampant flooding in Thailand, overall hard disk drive (HDD) sales hit a record $9.6 billion in sales in the first quarter, according to IHS ISuppli.
The rise in HDD revenue occurred even though first quarter shipments declined to 145 million units, down from 174 million units of the third quarter last year, just before the floods forced the closure of several HDD and HDD component manufacturing facilities in Thailand, IHS said. A full recovery to pre-flood shipment levels is not expected until the third quarter, one full year after the disaster, IHS said.
Fang Zhang, storage analyst at IHS, said sales increased because HDD ASPs rose to about $66.28, up from $51.49 prior to the floods. IHS
does not expect ASPs to return to pre-flood levels until 2014, even after shipments reach pre-flood levels.
"The ASP will not return to pre-flood levels in the short term and will stay at elevated levels throughout 2012 and 2013, helping the HDD industry make up for some of the losses following the disaster," Zhang said.
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