Seagate Remains on Top; Good News for WD fans?

Seagate Technology LLC (STX) remained the world's largest manufacturer of hard disk drives in the fourth quarter of 2009, despite a strong challenge by perennial second-ranked Western Digital Corp. (WDC).

Overall, shipping grew 8% from the preceding quarter to 49.9 million hard disk drives units, with Seagate controlling 31% of the market, according to iSuppli Corp. The research firm put Western's market share at 30%, although sequential growth was stronger for Western.

Fang Zhang, an iSuppli analyst, said Seagate's hold on the top spot surprised many observers who thought Western Digital would bypass its main rival during the quarter.