Hard disk drives to decelerate

The soaring hard disk drive (HDD) market will decelerate over the next few years as the mobile PC market also slows, a US market researcher said.

US firm iSuppli in a report released this week said global HDD shipments surged 18.7 percent from 218 million to 259 million units in 2003 over the previous year and 17.3 percent to 304 million units in 2004.

iSuppli was expecting a decline in the growth of HDD shipments, but predicted HDD shipments to gain about 10 percent in 2005, rising to 333 million units shipped.

"Annual percentage growth will remain in a similar range through 2008," iSuppli said in a statement. "Global HDD shipments will swell to about 462 million drives in 2008, rising at a CAGR of 10.5 percent from 2003."

Mobile PC shipments "which had been driving the growth of HDD" are slowing as many companies have already moved many users from desktop PCs, the iSuppli report said.

Much future growth would be driven by expanding demand for HDDs for use in consumer electronics, the market research firm said.