PC price could be going up

This may seem like a backward trend, but according to market research firms IHS iSuppli and Coughlin Associates, hard drive prices are expected to climb 20-30% through the year 2012.

"HDD supplies in the fourth quarter of 2011 fell by 26% compared to the same period in 2010, according to IHS iSuppli. Shipments are set to decline by another 13% in the first quarter of 2012 and by 5% in the second quarter on an annual basis. -CW"

This is all due to the damage caused by the flood in Thailand last year. Manufacturers are still rebuilding, a cost upwards of $1 billion. With capacity being down and an unexpected cost to cover, hard drive prices won't be coming down too soon.

Naturally this affects PC prices since you can't have a functioning PC without a hard drive. It looks like people will have to settle for less space, again a backward trend, or cough up the extra dough.

On the other hand if someone overstocked on HDDs two years ago, this is the time to cash them in