Global LCD monitor shipments rebounded by a faster-than-expected 7.5 percent last month, fueled by demand for inventory buildup and the launch of new models, according to the latest report from market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技).
The figures beat a forecast of less than 5 percent month-on-month expansion that the Taipei-based -researcher estimated three months ago. However, LCD growth was not strong enough to prompt TrendForce to raise its first-quarter shipments outlook.
In the first three months, TrendForce said it expected global shipments to decline by 6.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to 39.96 million units, from 42.82 million units in the fourth quarter last year.
“Most companies are conservative [about shipments outlook] -during the traditionally slow season. Demand is still unclear because of uncertainty in global economic prospects ... They hope to avoid stocking excessive inventories,” TrendForce said in a report released last week. “April will be a crucial period, which will reflect any improvement in the global economy.”
Shipments of the world’s major contract LCD makers, including the world’s two largest manufacturers, TPV Technology Ltd (冠捷) and Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子), rose to 14.84 million units in January, from 13.8 million units in December, TrendForce said.
“Most branded [LCD] companies started rebuilding inventory in January after the new fiscal year began,” the report said.
On top of that, branded companies and channel operators usually stock more goods in January to cope with less working days, which meant less output from contract manufacturers last month because of the Lunar New Year holiday, the report said. This quarter, global shipments of the top 10 branded monitor suppliers will be flat or slide less than 3 percent from last quarter, TrendForce said, attributing it to sales of new models, including monitors equipped with energy-saving LED displays, and restock demand from channel operators.
On Nov. 25, the researcher predicted that shipments from branded companies would drop 0.3 percent to 36.03 million units in the January to March period, compared with 36.12 million units shipped in the final quarter of last year.
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