Normal hard drive capital spending won't level out until 2014: report
Although the hard drive industry is going to have a tough time of it throughout most of this year, the 2012 Hard Disk Drive Capital Equipment and Technology Report is predicting big growth numbers for the next few years.
Specifically, those big numbers are focused on growth in capital equipment spending.
Total spending on capital equipment in 2012 for the HDD market is expected to reach approximately $2.4 billion.
We're going to see approximately 169 percent growth in HDD capital spending from 2011 to 2016, according to data storage consulting firm Coughlin Associates.
That comes down to three contributing factors:
- Expected unit shipment increases by 167 percent
- The introduction of new and more advanced HDD technologies
- Repair and replacement of units damaged from the flooding in Thailand last year, which is the force behind the current global HDD shortage
Additionally, the report concurs with several others from analysts as well as HDD manufacturers that we're going to see higher prices until at least 2014.
Additionally, the Coughlin Associates study argues that normal capital spending won't be re-established until that year either.
HDD unit prices are expected to climb by roughly 10 to 15 percent higher than the average costs in 2011.
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