HDD Supply Notice

HDD Supply Notice

November 22^nd – IC Realtime Europe

Recent and unprecedented flooding in Thailand during June of this year has resulted in factory closures and the suspension of production at a number of the world's leading Hard Drive manufacturers. More than 500 people to date have lost their lives within the disaster zone. The level of devastation is so severe that these factories remain closed to this day.  

Consequently, the production and global availability of Hard Drives is reduced by as much as 30%. Normal production levels are unlikely to resume prior to Q2 of 2012. The scarcity of this commodity has given rise to unscrupulous profiteering by a minority of companies / suppliers who seek to gain from the misfortune of others. Such behaviour has resulted in an increase in the cost of Hard Drives by as much as 300%.

IC Realtime's corporate governance policies and ethical standards outlaw such parasitic opportunism. Our underpinning corporate philosophy is to provide support in times of crises.  

As valued customers we are committed to supporting you in these challenging economic times and have to date absorbed all additional price increases to date. However unfortunately this situation is not sustainable and therefore IC Realtime is obliged to reflect any associated additional costs incurred in our product pricing.  

However as a measure of our commitment, IC Realtime will only apply a 'pass-through surcharge' directly proportionate to the price differential the company is forced to pay when sourcing Hard Drives during this production crisis. The cost element of the surcharge will be identified separately for all to see. This surcharge will be set aside immediately once prices return to normal when production is resumed.

We must highlight that we have sufficient stock to cater for our present / advanced fulfilment requirements up to December 1st.  This proviso related only to stock requirements that our customers may predict that they will require in the immediate future. We therefore suggest you place any orders well in advance of December 1st 2011 to guarantee current product pricing. After December 1st we will apply the surcharge on all DVR orders that contain HDD's and will notify you in writing once the surcharge rate is established.

We trust that our position in this matter reflects our professional honesty and integrity in the support of our customers

Here are some related news stories about the recent flooding in Thailand: 

• Reuters: Oct 28, 2011 - Thai floods boost PC hard drive prices
• The New York Times : Nov 07, 2011 - Thailand Flooding Cripples Hard-Drive Suppliers
• CNET :Nov 10, 2011 - Hard-disk shortage hits consumer outlets
• TechWorld :PC makers face 20 percent reduction in hard drive supply
• Digital Trends :Nov 10, 2011 - 1TB hard drive prices skyrocket 180 percent due to Thailand floods

Please don't hesitate to contact us today if you have any queries or concerns.