The age of artificial intelligence not only drives up demand for chips and GPUs: it has also turned massive storage into a strategic resource. Western Digital (WD) confirmed in a letter sent to its customers on September 12th that it will implement gradual price increases on all of its HDDs, effective immediately, in response to unprecedented demand and the need to fund new investments in innovation.
WD’s decision comes just days after SanDisk announced a 10% increase in NAND prices and Micron froze its tariffs for a week, reflecting mounting pressure across the memory and storage industry.
The customer letter: rising demand and logistical changes
In the official communication signed by Scott Davis, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Western Digital explains:
- “With unprecedented demand across all capacities in our portfolio, we are investing in innovation and future leadership. To support this growth and ensure continued excellence, we will gradually implement price increases across all HDD products, effective immediately.”
Additionally, the company details that it will prioritize maritime shipping over air freight as part of its sustainability strategy. This change will reduce emissions but will also extend delivery times by six to ten weeks, so customers are advised to plan their orders further in advance.
A market under tension due to AI
According to TrendForce, the pricing and delivery times for large-capacity HDDs are undergoing a structural shift. The explosion of generative AI and cloud inference services has triggered a surge in cold storage and big data demand.
- Leading CSPs (Cloud Service Providers), such as Google, Oracle, and Microsoft, are aggressively expanding their AI infrastructure, resulting in soaring sales of nearline HDDs and enterprise SSDs.
- Industry sources indicate that delivery times for large-capacity HDDs are already approaching a full year, forcing the search for alternatives.
Memory manufacturers are accelerating the development of nearline SSDs, which currently cost between 4 and 5 times more than HDDs, but could reduce that gap to about 3 times, incentivizing migration to flash solutions.
An inevitable transition
Hard drives remain vital due to their lower cost per terabyte and their role in massive storage, but the industry is preparing for a future where nearline SSDs and hybrid technologies become more dominant. Western Digital’s move to raise prices and extend its supply chain suggests that the market faces a perfect storm of high demand, capacity limitations, and technological transition.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is Western Digital increasing HDD prices?
Due to unprecedented demand driven by artificial intelligence and to fund investments in innovation and sustainability.
2. What impact will the new delivery times have?
Using maritime shipping instead of air freight will increase delivery times by six to ten weeks, requiring companies and CSPs to plan their purchases more carefully.
3. What is the current state of the storage market?
Delivery times for large-capacity HDDs are already nearing a year, while manufacturers are pushing nearline SSDs to reduce the price gap with traditional disks.
4. Will HDDs remain relevant compared to SSDs?
Yes, because of their cost per terabyte and role in massive storage, although the shift to flash solutions and hybrid technologies is increasingly evident.
via: TrendForce