Global hard drive shipments to grow at 15.5% a year, consumer electronics HDDs to grow at 37.4% a year

The worldwide hard disk drive (HDD) industry will experience sustained unit and revenue growth through 2009, with particularly strong expansion of the consumer electronics (CE) and external drive/home storage segments, IDC says. Worldwide HDD unit shipments and revenue will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5% and 10.1% respectively from 2004 to 2009. Worldwide CE HDD unit shipments will experience the fastest growth rate with a 37.4% CAGR over the same period.