PC Shipments May Decrease by 20% in 1Q12

China-pcb-assemblies.com, a company that specializes in PCB and PCBA manufacturing in China, analyzes that the reduced PC shipments in the first quarter of 2012 have a direct relationship with the flood in Thailand.

The hard disk output of Thailand accounts for 40% to 45% share of the global production of hard disk drives.

China-pcb-assemblies.com reports that the major hard drive manufacturers Seagate and WD have large-scale production facilities of hard drives in Thailand. Since the July of this year, Thailand’s floods have killed at least 320 people and destroyed Thailand’s industrial zone. Since then, the price of hard disks has risen 20% to 40%.

Although manufacturers in the hard disk industry will soon resume production, the supply is still very tense in a period of time. PC production for the shipments in the fourth quarter of this year has been completed or can be completed by using existing hard drives in stock. China-pcb-assemblies.com points out that the impact of hard drive shortage on the PC shipments in the fourth quarter is no more than 10%. However, the worst case is that in the first quarter of 2012 the PC shipments will therefore reduce by 20% or more.