Resumption of Hard Drive Motor Production
Also affected by the floods in Thailand, the motor manufacturer Nidec, unlike the hard drive manufacturers, has restarted its factories since December 1st.
Nidec, which produces essential hard drive motors with its compatriot Minebea, is unfortunately very established in Thailand. This is a logical location since hard drive manufacturers are also very present in the Asian country.
The floods have consequently affected the entire sector, including manufacturers of the final product (Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, etc.) and manufacturers of fundamental parts such as Nidec and Minebea. Six out of ten factories that were hit by the floods have now restarted, and three others have had their production moved to other factories. However, this does not mean that the factories are running at 100% and no date for a return to normal has been given by Nidec.
In addition to the inflation in hard drive prices, which affects both the general public and professionals, the shortage directly impacts computer manufacturers. Acer, Asus and Apple have thus revised their prices or delivery times. Only SSD hard drive manufacturers are doing well.
