how should i read this, other peoples misery is nothing compared to the
added markup on our bills to our clients?
No, i did not read your blog, but since you put out the short version here,
please explain to me what i've missed, so i don't have to call you a
heartless SOB.
Bouke
VideoToolShed
van Oldenbarneveltstraat 33
6512 AS NIJMEGEN
The Netherlands
+31 24 3553311
www.videotoolshed.com
For large files:
http://dropbox.yousendit.com/BoukeVahl998172
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Bettan" <gary@videoguys.com>
To: <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <FinalCutPro-L@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 10:15 PM
Subject: [Avid-L2] Hard Drive Shortages to Drive Up Cost of Video Editing
> Over the past year the hard drive producers have been hit by a one-two
> punch
> that has them scrambling to find ways to produce enough hard drives to
> satisfy demand. Hard drives prices are expected to jump up by 20% or more
> over the next week, with no end in sight.
>
> Back in March the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami created massive supply
> chain issues. While no hard drive production facilities were directly
> effected, several plants that produced key components such as circuit
> boards
> were destroyed. This created spot shortages in the drive business while
> hard
> drive manufacturers had to scramble to work around these issues. It
> appeared that the worst was over and that by the end of the year,
> production
> would be back up.
>
> Then this October another natural disaster struck Asia. Thailand has been
> hit by massive flooding. Thailand as a country is the second-largest
> manufacturer of drives in the world. Western Digital, Hitachi, Seagate,
> Toshiba and Samsung all have a significant portion of their production
> coming out of Thailand. Thailand has ground to a halt. It could take
> another
> 4-6 weeks until the flood waters recede. While most of the finished goods
> were pulled out in time, the same can't be said for the facilities
> themselves.
>
> Over the past week we have been talking to our drive vendors and the news
> is
> bad, really bad. Hard drives assembly lines are modern marvels, with
> automation, robotics and extremely expensive machines working in highly
> controlled environments. Some factories are wiped out, others have severe
> water damage. Attempts to move equipment and assembly lines to higher
> ground resulted in damages that may or may not be repairable. Key parts
> suppliers have been hit just as hard, Nidec Corp which makes hard drive
> motors had one of their Ayutthaya plant (pictured) swamped under several
> feet of water. It's a mess, and some are expecting supply to fall as much
> as 35% below forecast - which in this day and age of computerized just in
> time manufacturing, equals demand.
>
> How does this effect video editors?
>
> Right in your pocketbook. While there are some supplies of drives already
> in
> the US, we've been told by our vendors across the board to expect major
> shortages and higher prices in Q4. How much higher you ask? We don't know
> yet, but the impact will be felt initially in lower capacity drives. For
> us
> that means that external RAIDs based on 1TB drives are going to get hit
> first. We've had problems getting 2TB G-RAIDs since the summer, we were
> able
> to get 2TB GT062E RAIDs from Glyph, but now that supply has dried up. At
> this point we are pulling both Glyph and G-Tech 2TB external RAIDs from
> our
> website - indefinitely.
>
> While it looks like we'll be able to get RAIDs based on 2TB and 3TB
> drives,
> that too will become problematic over the next 4-6 weeks. If you are
> planning on purchasing an external RAID solution for your NLE system, do
> it
> NOW! Take advantage of whatever pricing and availability exists in the
> market. Prices will move up without notice as supply fails to keep up with
> demand.
>
> For the complete blog post http://bit.ly/sMoZCR
>
> Gary
>
>
>
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