Thai floods expected to hit PC shipments into 2012
Published on Nov 11, 2011
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thai flooding will significantly slow the global production of personal computers well into 2012, analysts said on Thursday, as the country's huge hard disk drive industry struggles to its feet.
Supplies of hard disk drives (HDDs), the most critical component in personal computers, could tighten by 30 per cent in the fourth quarter, forcing PC makers to tail back production, experts said.
According to industry specialist International Data Corporation (IDC), that could bring about, in the worst case scenario, a 20 per cent cut in PC shipments in the first quarter next year.
Thailand's huge HDD industry, mostly located in industrial estates in the central plains, supplies about 40 per cent of world market for the crucial memory components.
'The HDD shortage will affect smaller PC vendors and lower priced products most,' like netbooks and the cheapest computers, said Loren Loverde of IDC.
'However, even the largest vendors are expected to face HDD shortages, particularly for portable PCs where the market is more consolidated,' Mr Loverde said.
Consultancy IHS iSuppli said the floods, which for several weeks have inundated much of low-lying central Thailand, including the capital Bangkok, would cut global HDD shipments by some 51 million units in the current quarter, to 125 million units.
'Prices for HDDs have already begun to move higher on the anticipation of shortages, and it is likely that prices will remain elevated, possibly by more than 10 per cent, for several quarters to come,' IHS said.
Key producers like Toshiba and Western Digital have shut down large parts of their Thai production capacity due to the floods, which have also forced Thai-based producers of HDD components to halt production as well.
The expected shortage of HDDs could hit another part of the industry - already-oversupplied dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) components.
'A fall in PC sales in the first half of 2012 will further depress the DRAM market. Manufacturers will continue to idle capacity while suffering weak pricing,' said IHS iSuppli analysts.
As Thailand moves into the dry season and the floods recede, HDD producers should be able to get back to work by the end of the year, and IDC forecasts that the market will be back to normal with stable prices by June.
IHS iSuppli said earlier that the floods had shut down assembly and test operations that many semiconductor makers run in Thailand as well.
US Secretary of State offers flood help to Thailand
Published on Nov 11, 2011
HONOLULU (AFP) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that she would offer US assistance to flood-hit Thailand on a visit next week but wanted to see what the kingdom's leaders needed.
Ms Clinton said she would highlight 'specific measures of assistance' during her talks in Bangkok with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government.
'We are willing to help the Thai government and the Thai people, but we want to make sure that we are responding to the help requested,' Ms Clinton said after a speech in Hawaii in response to a question from a Thai student.
'It is not up to us to make a judgment on what you need. It is for us to sit with your government and for your officials to tell us what you require and then for us to respond,' she said.
Ms Clinton scheduled the Thai visit between stops in the Philippines and Indonesia after Ms Yingluck canceled her trip to Hawaii for this weekend's summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Ms Clinton said Ms Yingluck 'made exactly the right decision' in staying at home to handle the crisis.
Thailand's response to the major floods has become a sensitive issue.
The US Navy initially sent an aircraft carrier but it left after American officials said that Thailand's powerful military did not request assistance.
Thailand later asked a US destroyer to extend its stay so its helicopters could survey flood waters.
The Thai government says that 533 people have died in the country's worst floods in half a century, with the slowly advancing waters now threatening the heart of Bangkok, a city of 12 million people.
Rescuers hunt for survivors in fresh Turkey quake
Published on Nov 11, 2011
Rescue teams worked into the night on Thursday, seeking survivors of an earthquake killed at least ten people, toppled buildings and sowed panic less than three weeks after a massive deadly quake in the same area. -- PHOTO: AP
ANKARA (AFP) - Rescue teams worked into the night on Thursday, seeking survivors of an earthquake killed at least ten people, toppled buildings and sowed panic less than three weeks after a massive deadly quake in the same area.
Television footage showed the injured being treated at tents as the private CNN-Turk television reported that most of the hospitals damaged during the quake were emptied.
Ten people, including a Japanese humanitarian worker, lost their lives during the quake which struck late on Wednesday and at least 27 people were pulled out alive, according to the prime minister's disaster and emergency management centre.
More than 800 rescue personnel rushed to the area, with mechanical diggers clawing through rubble after the 5.6 magnitude quake struck near the city of Van, which sent two hotels crashing down along with two dozen mostly empty buildings.
Turkish quake death toll rises to 17
Published on Nov 11, 2011
Turkish rescue workers pull out Atsushi Miyazaki from the rubble of a collapsed hotel in Van, Turkey, early on Thursday, Nov 10, 2011. Turks paid tribute to the dead Miyazaki, calling him a benefactor on Twitter and lamenting that he died in a relatively weak earthquake compared to the massive one and tsunami that devastated Japan in March. -- PHOTO: AP
VAN, Turkey (AP) - Rescue workers pulled out the bodies of five more quake victims on Friday, increasing the death toll in Turkey's latest deadly temblor to at least 17, including a Japanese aid worker who came after a devastating earthquake last month.
Disaster management official Askit Dayi said the body of a middle-aged man was recovered under one of the two collapsed hotels, Bayram Hotel, in the eastern city of Van. Four more bodies were pulled out later, said Turkey's state-run TRT television.
'We are not able to hear any voices,' said Mr Dayi. 'But still we are removing layers of concrete in a way as if there are survivors.' Recep Salci of the rescue group Akut told NTV television that freezing temperatures at night were also posing a threat to any possible survivors.
Rescue teams were using an emergency evacuation plan to determine possible escape routes within the pancaked building, said Bulent Gunduz of the Siemens private rescue team.
Tokyo's gigantic flood prevention system
The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, also known as the G-Cans Project or the "Underground Temple", is an subterranean water infrastructure project built to protect the capital Tokyo against floodwaters during rain and typhoon seasons. It is believed to be one of the largest water collection facilities in the world. Building began in 1992 and the massive structure now consists of five concrete silos, a large water tanks and 59 pillars connected to a number of pumps that can pump up to 200 tons of water into the Edogawa River per second. It has also become a tourist attraction, as well as a location for movies, TV shows and commercials.
The pressure-controlled water tank at the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Kusakabe, north of Tokyo. The facility, which is believed to be one of the largest facilities in the world, is composed of giant concrete containment silos (65m tall, 32m wide), connected by 3.97 miles of underground tunnels 50m beneath the surface as well as a large water tank called the "Underground Temple" which is 25.4m tall, with a length of 177m and 78m wide, with 59 concrete pillars.
(Photo: REUTERS/Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism-Edogawa River Office/Handout)