Mr. Belvedere used our newssubmit to tell us that currently CD-RW drives may become cheaper as the run on 40x drives seems to have started.
This run has dropped the prices of 24x and 32x drives, but theere is also oversupply on 40x drives bringing the price down of 40x units.
The price cuts, at 10-15% compared to the first quarter, come as Samsung, Hitachi LG Data Storage and a host of Taiwanese companies have increased capacity output. Some companies are also planning to transition to 48x and even 52x drives. |
The rise of 40x CD-RW drives, meanwhile, is accelerating sales of 24x and 32x products among drive distributors hoping to adopt the 40x products broadly in their portfolio. Retail prices for lower-speed CD-RW drives now fall by an average of 10-15% monthly, the distributors said.
Though most Taiwanese computer drive makers enjoyed comfortable gross margins in the first quarter '“ 31% at Lite-On IT, 20% at Benq and over 10% at other first-tier makers '“ the companies said margins may have dropped to single-digit levels in the April-June quarter, underscoring the need to consolidate and gain market share in the industry, they said.
Source: Digitimes.com
