HARD DISK DRIVE COMPONENTS GREW 25% IN 2010 ... - Circuitnet

HARD DISK DRIVE COMPONENTS GREW 25% IN 2010SAYSTHE INFORMATION NETWORKNew Tripoli, PA, March 23, 2011 . . . While the hard disk drive (HDD) marketrecorded disk drive unit shipment growth of 17.1% in 2010, componentmanufacturers such as heads and suspensions grew 24.7%, according to accordingto the report The Hard Disk Drive Industry: Market Analysis and Processing Trends,recently published by The Information Network (www.theinformationnet.com), aNew Tripoli, PA-based market research company.For example, shipments of recording heads used in HDD assembly production grewfrom 1,625 million units in 2009 to 2,026 million units in 2010. The report forecaststhat 2,371 million thin film heads will ship in 2011.“Recording head shipments are based on the number of hard disk drives shipped andthe number of heads per drive,” noted Dr. Robert Castellano, president of TheInformation Network. “The number of heads per drive will increase from 2.35 in2003 to 3.25 in 2014.”Thin Film Head Market Share 2010HGST16.7%Seagate26.3%WDC25.6%TDK31.5%Source: The Information Network, March 2011Market shares for 2010 for thin film head suppliers are shown in the figure above.TDK, a merchant supplier of heads, led the market with a 31.5% share. In 2010,Seagate manufactured 88% of its 605 million heads sold with its HDDs. WD

manufactured 97% of its 631 million heads sold, and HGST manufactured 82% of its338 million heads sold with its HDDs.The Information Network is a leading consulting and market research companyaddressing the semiconductor, LCD, HDD, and solar industries.Web - www.theinformationnet.comE-mail – inquiry@theinformationnet.comCONTACT: Dr. Robert N. Castellano, 610/737-7596INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARD DISK DRIVE