Worldwide demand for recordable DVD discs (DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW) will reach 300 million units this year, but despite rapid growth, supply will continue to fall short, according to the Taiwan-based Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA). One hundred and twenty million recordable DVD discs were shipped in 2002, the association said.

Recordable DVD disc supply will grow significantly, reaching 27 million units a month in the second half of the year, compared with 16 million units a month in the first half, said PIDA analyst Anson Cheng. That comes to 258 million units for the full year.

Meanwhile, demand for CD-R discs is projected at 5.83 billion units this year, almost flat with 5.51 billion units sold last year, Cheng added. Hurt by CD-R disc oversupply and falling profit margins, manufacturers have been shifting production to the higher-margin recordable DVD discs.