China’s BOE Technology Group (京東方) replaced Taiwan-based Innolux Corp (群創) as the third-largest TV screen manufacturer in the world last month, according to screen market research institute WitsView.
WitsView, a research unit of Taiwan-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技), said that statistics showed that BOE shipped 3.61 million TV panels last month, up by 3 percent from October on the back of its efforts to expand production capacity.
However, Innolux’s TV panel shipments last month fell 23.8 percent from a month earlier to 3.58 million units after a contract to ship screens to Mexico ended in October, the data showed.
WitsView said that due to the expiration of the contract, Innolux suffered its first month-on-month decline of more than 20 percent in shipments for this year, which is why BOE overtook Innolux to become the third-largest TV screen provider in the world, bumping the Taiwanese firm down one spot.
Last month, LG Display Co (LGD) of South Korea grabbed the largest TV panel vendor position after shipping 4.82 million units, up by 12.8 percent from a month earlier, the data showed.
WitsView said that LGD has benefited from its efforts to penetrate the Chinese market with an increase in orders placed by Chinese TV makers. Such efforts helped LGD maintain the lead over its peers in the global market, the researchers said.
Samsung Display Co (SDC) of South Korea came in second after shipping 4.26 million TV panels last month, up by 11.4 percent from a month earlier, the data showed.
WitsView said that the increase enjoyed by SDC largely reflected a relatively low comparison base recorded in October.
AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達), another flat panel maker, shipped 2.41 million TV panels, ranking it as the sixth-largest TV panel vendor in the world after China Star Optoelectronics Technology’s (CSOT, 華星) fifth-place standing.
However, in terms of shipments by screen area, Innolux recorded 1.68 million square meters last month, 37 percent more than BOE’s and also 71 percent more than CSOT’s.
AUO’s screen-area shipments totaled 1.31 million square meters last month, 34 percent more than BOE’s and also 7 more than CSOT’s.
WitsView said that worldwide TV panel shipments totaled 22.74 million units last month, down 0.8 percent from October, but up by 2.2 percent from a year earlier.
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