Hard Drive Prices
Looks like they’re about to go up.
And, if what I’m reading in the media is any indication, by quite a lot.
I know I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, but the tech media seems to just be really catching on to this. The folks over at ExtremeTech, who are really into their hardware, have a great article about what’s going on with drive prices. And, perhaps more importantly, what they think is going to happen to drive prices. In short, it’s not good.
Seagate is expecting shortages in their supply chain for “several quarters”, and that, of course, translates to a higher demand. And, for all of you who slept through your basic Economics course in school, higher demand on a limited supply results in higher prices.
Of course, this is all due to the terrible flooding in Thailand, where key components are made for a number of electronic systems. I’d expect that shortly after Christmas, a number of things will go up in price. Anything that relies on a drive for a key component, like PCs or laptops or network attached storage, will clearly cost more. But, I expect a lot of different cameras and similar electronics to go up in price, too.
This is the downside of a global economy. And, it’s also why we should be concerned with the welfare of our fellow humans on the far side of the globe. We’re all interconnected, now more than ever. I hate to equate such an enormous disaster with our creature comforts and the price of consumer goods, but, well, it’s the only way some people can get their mind around how important it all is.
The world is so interconnected now, what happens in any one country, no matter how small, has far reaching effects on the entire world.
