HDD shipments fell 35% year-on-year

Owing to market volatility and the evolution of storage technologies, the shipment volume of HDDs (hard disk drives) continued to contract in the first quarter of 2023. Nearline hard drives, the most profitable segment of the HDD market, experienced the most significant impact in terms of unit shipments during this period.

According to statistics published by Blocks & Files, the HDD shipment volume for Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital is estimated to be between 33.5 and 34.9 million units, representing a year-on-year decline of 35%. The unit capacity of nearline hard drives has been steadily increasing, becoming a key product line for hard drive manufacturers. However, nearline hard drive shipments in Q1 2023 were approximately 10.2 million units, lower than the 18.8 million units in Q1 2022 and the 10.51 million units in Q4 2022. The total capacity was 157 exabytes, a year-on-year decrease of 36%, and a slight quarter-on-quarter decline of 1%.

Image: Seagate

PC client and consumer electronics hard drive shipments were approximately 22.5 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 28%, with 3.5-inch hard drives accounting for approximately 12.5 million units and 2.5-inch hard drives accounting for approximately 10 million units, representing respective declines of 24% and 33%. This downturn in shipment volume highlights the prevailing trend for PC client and consumer electronics hard drives and is unsurprising.

Seagate maintained its position as the market leader, with shipments ranging between 15 and 15.5 million units, marking a year-on-year decline of 32.6% to 34.7%, and a market share of 44.4% to 44.8%. Western Digital’s shipments were between 12.2 and 12.7 million units, with a year-on-year decrease of 35.9% to 38.2% and a market share of approximately 36.4%. Toshiba’s shipments ranged between 6.3 and 6.7 million units, witnessing a year-on-year decline of 33.2% to 37.2% and a market share of 18.8% to 19.2%.