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LTO tape shipments dropped 9% in 2025, but Q1 2026 rose 57% as a new 40TB cartridge revived demand for low-power archives.
Image: The Register LTO tape shipments fell by 16.2 exabytes in 2025, but the format rebounded in early 2026. The LTO Program said customers shipped 160.3 exabytes of LTO media during 2025, down from a record 176.5 exabytes in 2024.
The decline was 9 percent, making 2025 the second-best year for LTO shipments. The LTO Program is backed by HPE, IBM and Quantum and represents roughly 85 percent of tape sales. Its 2026 market update says the weaker annual result reflected cautious purchasing and inventory decisions during an unsettled international trade period.
| Reporting period | LTO capacity shipped | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 176.5 exabytes | All-time high |
| 2025 | 160.3 exabytes | 9% decline |
First-quarter shipments were 57 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2025. The program did not publish the underlying Q1 capacity figures in the supplied material, so the percentage cannot be converted into an exabyte total here.
“We suspect that if this uncertainty is resolved the continued strength of the tape storage market will be even more impressive, particularly as constrained power availability for data center buildouts favors including tape, which consumes less power than any other storage media.”
The LTO Program is forecasting another record year in 2026. That is a forecast, not a shipment result, but the Q1 increase provides an early data point behind it.
The 40TB cartridge increases capacity #
The early-2026 recovery coincides with the arrival of a 40TB tape cartridge, up from the previous 30TB capacity cited by the program. The new cartridge works with the drives that support 30TB cartridges, so existing drive infrastructure can use the higher-capacity media without requiring an entirely new drive generation.
| Cartridge capacity | Drive compatibility stated in the report | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 30TB | Existing LTO drives for the prior maximum | Previous best capacity cited |
| 40TB | Compatible with drives that handle 30TB cartridges | New higher-capacity cartridge |
The supplied reporting does not specify whether the 40TB figure is native capacity or assumes a compression ratio, nor does it provide the cartridge’s price, write speed, read speed or restore-time performance. Capacity per cartridge reduces media handling, but it does not change tape’s sequential-access behavior.
Tape’s basic trade-off is unchanged. It offers high capacity with very low operating power, while retrieving data can take substantially longer than reading from online disk or flash storage. Media also has to be stored and handled carefully. That makes LTO a poor fit for data that must be served immediately, but a useful complement for backup and long-term archives where access is infrequent.
AI infrastructure is helping and hurting tape #
Power availability is one reason the format remains relevant as data-center operators add infrastructure for AI workloads. Tape consumes less power than other storage media, according to Coughlin’s statement, so it can keep archive data out of continuously powered storage systems.
At the same time, hyperscalers are competing with physical tape through archival-storage-as-a-service products. These services can present a virtual-tape interface that works with existing tape backup tools, while hiding the underlying hardware from the customer. The reporting says providers are reluctant to identify their storage media, but large-capacity hard disk drives appear to be common underneath those services.
That creates a constraint for tape. Large hard drives are themselves in short supply because hyperscalers need them for AI deployments, potentially making tape more attractive as an alternative archive layer. But LTO cannot instantly absorb all of that demand: only Sony and Fujifilm manufacture LTO cartridges, and the market has experienced shortages before.
AI buildouts increase the value of low-power cold storage and put pressure on competing disk capacity, while trade uncertainty and limited cartridge manufacturing can restrict how quickly buyers expand physical tape infrastructure. The 40TB cartridge improves the capacity economics without eliminating tape’s slow restores or supply-chain exposure.
For US data-center operators, the immediate takeaway is not that tape has replaced disk or cloud archives. The available data supports a narrower claim: LTO shipments weakened from a record in 2024, then opened 2026 with a sharp year-over-year increase. Whether that becomes a new annual record will depend on the rest of 2026—and on whether cartridge supply can keep up with renewed demand.
Frequently asked questions #
How much LTO tape shipped in 2025?+ #
Customers shipped 160.3 exabytes of LTO tape in 2025, down 9 percent from 176.5 exabytes in 2024.
Do 40TB LTO cartridges require new drives?+ #
The supplied reporting says the 40TB cartridges are compatible with drives that handle the previous 30TB cartridges.
Why are companies still using tape?+ #
Tape provides high capacity and consumes less power than other storage media, making it useful for backups and infrequently accessed archives. Restores are slower and the media requires careful storage.
Marcus Vance Enterprise Editor
Marcus follows the money. He covers enterprise software, cloud architecture, and the tectonic shifts in Big Tech strategy. He translates dense earnings calls and complex M&A activity into actionable insights about where the industry is actually heading. If a tech giant makes a silent pivot, Marcus is usually the first to notice.