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HDD Prices Hit Record Highs as AI Data Center Demand Squeezes SSD Supply
Electronic Technology · Computer Peripherals · yonhap_finance · 2026-09-09
Hard disk drive prices have risen for six consecutive quarters as the AI data center boom drives up demand for storage, causing a supply crunch in SSDs.
What Happened
Market Trends: The massive expansion of AI data centers has triggered a surge in demand for solid-state drives (SSDs), leading to a significant price increase for their alternative, hard disk drives (HDDs). According to the Nikkei, wholesale HDD prices have climbed for six straight quarters, reaching all-time highs.
Price Dynamics: In the third quarter, 3.5-inch 1TB HDDs for desktops and security cameras saw a 15% price hike, while 2.5-inch laptop drives rose by 10%. Although HDDs have historically lost market share to faster SSDs, they are currently benefiting from the supply constraints affecting the broader storage market.
Supply Imbalance: The intense demand for high-performance SSDs in AI infrastructure has disrupted the supply chain for general-purpose computing products. Analysts suggest that this shortage is forcing manufacturers and consumers to turn back to HDDs to meet their storage requirements.
Industry Landscape: The global HDD market remains an oligopoly dominated by three key players: Seagate Technology, Western Digital, and Toshiba Device & Storage. These companies are currently capitalizing on the supply-demand mismatch to sustain their pricing power.