Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) and Toshiba have all been impacted by the floods in Thailand amid power shortages and a breakdown in transportation in Thailand. The companies are working on piling up their HDD inventory to avoid potential shortages in the fourth quarter of 2011. However, a fully recovery of operations may take at least two months.

Western Digital's facilities close to Bangkok will be constrained in the current quarter due to the severe flooding in Thailand, the company announced. The company reported that its approximately 37,000 Thailand-based employees are deemed safe at this time. In the quarter ending July 1, 2011, WD shipped approximately 54 million hard drives from its facilities in Thailand and Malaysia, with approximately 60 percent coming from its Thailand sites. The company's Thailand operations source much of its supply of components from local suppliers. While WD's facilities in Thailand are operational, production has been suspended on a temporary basis to protect its employees and its facilities and equipment against water ingress.

Seagate also today provided an update to its operations in Thailand in light of the severe flooding in the region.

According to the company, all Seagate factories in Thailand are operational and there are no logistical issues with employees reaching its factories. However, the hard disk drive component supply chain is being disrupted and it is expected that certain components in the supply chain will be constrained. As a result of the disruption caused by the floods, Seagate anticipates hard drive supply will be constrained throughout the current quarter.