Katarzyna Petru
The storage market has just received another warning signal. Western Digital has admitted that its production capacities for 2026 are already fully contracted. The massive demand from companies developing AI infrastructure means that even traditional hard drives are no longer a 'safe haven' for prices. This means that the issue of shortages is no longer solely related to RAM or SSDs. Individual customers are starting to take a backseat. And prices? The pressure is still increasing.
Production sold out a year in advance
The CEO of Western Digital, Irving Tan, confirmed during the financial results presentation that the company has practically sold out its entire production for 2026. The largest clients have contracted enormous volumes of data, with some securing supplies even for 2027 and 2028 under long-term agreements. The effect is straightforward: retail is no longer key. The consumer segment now accounts for only about 5 percent of the company's revenue. When data centres buy everything in bulk, stores and regular users are not prioritised.
AI takes over supply chains
The boom in artificial intelligence is driving not only sales of graphics cards and RAM. AI models require vast storage spaces, which means massive purchases of HDDs for data centres. In practice, AI infrastructure 'gobbles up' available components, impacting prices across the entire IT sector. The industry hoped that traditional hard disk drives would remain price-stable as older generation technology. The opposite has happened. Increased demand from hyperscalers has even put this segment under pressure.
Buy now or wait?
For the individual user, the situation is uncomfortable. Either you accept the current prices, or you hope for improvement in the future. The problem is that nothing indicates a quick cooling of AI investments. If the trend continues, price pressure may also last into 2027.
One thing is for sure: manufacturers have guaranteed sales for years to come. And as long as large corporations reserve every available terabyte, the purchasing decisions of ordinary customers will have marginal significance.
Source: Western Digital / Spider’s Web
