Shipments of small and medium-sized LCD panels by Taiwan-based companies are expected to rise 12.4 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter this year due to growing demand from China, a local researcher said.
Market research firm Digitimes Research said on Monday that Taiwan’s ODM service providers are expected to ship 352 million LCD displays during the three-month period — the industry’s traditional peak season — up 6.6 percent from the same period a year ago.
Digitimes analyst Jason Yang (楊仁杰) attributed the sharp increase to the upcoming May 1 Labor Day holiday in China, saying that demand during the prolonged holiday will be the main driver of shipments in the second quarter.
Shipments in all panel application categories are expected to grow, Yang said, with portable DVD player shipments expected to rise by 18.3 percent, the most of any category.
Yang expects MP3 players to post the slowest growth, at 6.8 percent, because their market niche is gradually being squeezed by the growing popularity of smartphones.
In terms of brand breakdown, shipments from AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) are expected to grow 33 percent from the first quarter, while Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) may surpass Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) as the second-largest shipper in the world of smaller panels.
The global leader in the small and medium-sized panel category, HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), is expected to maintain its top ranking in market share and see shipment growth of 1 percent in the second quarter, Yang said.
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