The supply of hard drives will not return to normal until the middle of next year, according to a recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC).

As reported in Broadcast, Thailand’s worst floods for 50 years have knocked out factories across the country, where almost half of all optical drives are manufactured.

Soho-based broadcast equipment supplier Stanley Productions said it had seen a 25-30% increase in hard drive sales, with demand for 1Tb storage “through the roof “.

Research firm IDC said that although it expects capacity to be restored “relatively quickly”, there will be supply shortages into the first quarter of 2012, and higher prices as demand exceeds supply.

The industry is expected to begin to recover during that period, with the prices of hard drives stabilising by June and a return to normal levels of supply and pricing during the second half of 2012.