Seagate Technology has downward adjusted its global shipment forecast for the fourth quarter of 2011 from 55 million hard disk drives to 40-50 million units because its production in Thailand is expected to decrease due to short supply of components, but it will replace Western Digital (WD) to become the largest global supplier in the quarter, according to Taiwan-based HDD supply chain makers.

This is because WD's two factories in Thailand have stopped production due to damage caused by the flooding and will take an estimated 4-6 months to resume normal production, while Seagate's factories in Thailand have not been damaged by flooding, the sources explained. WD's production in Thailand accounts for about 60% of the company's global output, the sources pointed out.