Large-Sized LCD Panel Market Shows Recovery Signs in June
El Segundo, Calif., September 21, 2009—Shipments of large-sized Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels reached 47.1 million units in June, up 9 percent from the previous month and up 26.2 percent from the same time a year ago, according to iSuppli Corp.
This increase represents an acceleration in the growth rate from 6.9 percent in May and 6.2 percent in April.
“June marked the first month in 2009 that all three large-sized LCD panel applications (i.e., televisions, notebooks and desktop PC monitors) showed year-over-year expansions in shipments,” observed Sweta Dash, senior director for LCD Research at iSuppli. “With the market hitting on all cylinders, the strong demand outlook for panel purchase is expected to continue through the third quarter as brands prepare for strong sales in the upcoming Christmas season.”
The attached figure presents iSuppli’s estimate of monthly global shipments of large-sized LCD panels. iSuppli defines large-sized LCD panels as those having a diagonal dimension of 10-inches or more.
Television brightens LCD picture
The growth in the large-sized LCD segment was led mainly by rising sales of television and notebook panels with increases of 9.2 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively. This was followed by monitor panels, which climbed 8.3 percent.
“The positive sales momentum continued in July and August as the television market prepared for Christmas, despite some inventories that built up in the retail channels,” Dash noted. “Nevertheless, there is fear that panel supply may be tight because of various factors, including the continuing glass shortage, as well as the recent earthquake in Japan that has damaged Corning’s glass tanks and impacted glass supply for Sharp’s eighth-generation fab.”
Buyers, seeing significant price increases in July, were willing to buy extra panels in quantity. Preliminary data shows that Christmas buying and fear of further panel supply tightness due to glass shortages kept panel demand positive in August. Panel demand is expected to remain strong through the third quarter of 2009.
Strong second quarter
For the entire second quarter, global large-sized LCD panel shipments were 43 percent higher than in the first quarter and up 12 percent from the second quarter of 2008. Factors contributing to the strong quarter included the improvement in the world economy, robust demand from the Chinese market, new model introductions, the shift to 16-by-9 format panels and the increasing use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) backlights.
The strong growth in demand, combined with tight supply, resulted in 20 percent to 25 percent panel price increases for mainstream large-sized LCD panels from March to June. The rise in pricing helped panel suppliers move away from below-cost pricing and losses and toward profitability for all applications by the end of the second quarter.
Shipments of monitor panels in June reached 17.8 million units, representing a better-than-expected growth of 8.3 percent from May and an 8.5 percent rise from June 2008.
Unit shipments of TV panels reached 13.2 million in June, rising sharply by 61.8 percent from a year earlier and up by 9.2 percent from the month before.
Shipments of notebook panels, including 10-inch displays, reached 15.3 million units in June, driven by the strong demand for Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage (CULV) models.
Learn more about the LCD panel market with Dash’s new report, entitled: LCD Panel Prices Increase Yet Again Despite Inventory Increases.
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