The nation's liquid-crystal-display (LCD) television industry may face a bumpy third quarter as a result of excess stock held in distribution channels and weaker-than-expected market demand from the Olympic Games, the Taipei-based Market Intelligence Center (MIC,
The inventory pile-up resulted from industry optimism and limited growth momentum in the second quarter. This put financial pressure on LCD TV makers and delayed their plans to develop and market new models, MIC said in a statement.
The center predicted that declining panel prices and upgraded specifications will strengthen the high-season effect during the fourth quarter, as long as the inventory problem is resolved during the current quarter.
LCD TV shipments in the second half of this year are expected to reach nearly 1 million units, bringing the annual shipment to 1.8 million units, MIC said.
"The key to sustaining the growth of Taiwan's LCD TV makers in the second half is to strive for new orders from international vendors and large-scale distribution channels in addition to original clients," the center said.
The industry shipped 400,000 LCD TVs in the second quarter, up from 380,000 units in the first quarter. The output value fell to US$290 million from over US$300 million in the same period on lower average selling prices following price cuts in key components, MIC said.
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