Thailand flooding raises prices on hard drives
22.05.12
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- If you've got a computer, laptop or external hard drive on your Christmas list, you can expect to pay more for it this year.
Flooding in Thailand has put many of the hard drive parts suppliers under water and that is creating a shortage globally.
"We've had drives that used to be $60, up to as much as $180, they're tripling in prices. Some drives have even gone up to quadruple the price," said Jeff Solheim with Micro Center.
The short-supply comes at a time when hard drive production was already low, thanks to the sluggish economy. Companies like HP, Acer and Dell are considering raising prices for their products to cover the cost of the inflated components.
High prices could linger long into the next year as they don't expect hard drive production to be back to normal until summer or even third quarter of 2012.
Source: KARE