Taiwan is expected to lag behind South Korea in large TV panel shipments this year with suppliers in Seoul expected to benefit from orders placed by TV brands from their own conglomerates, according to Taipei-based market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp.
Citing data compiled by its panel industry research unit WitsView, TrendForce said that worldwide shipments of 75-inch TV screens are expected to grow by 114 percent from last year to 1.5 million units this year, with Taiwan accounting for 30 percent and South Korea accounting for about 70 percent.
Only four firms in the world supply 75-inch panels, two from Taiwan — Innolux Corp (群創) and AU Optronics Corp (友達) and two from South Korea — and Samsung Display Co and LG Display Co.
Taiwan started developing 75-inch TV panels later than South Korea, so even though Taiwanese firms have stepped up their efforts to boost production, their shipments will still trail those of their South Korean counterparts, TrendForce said.
Global shipments of 65-inch TV panels this year are expected to grow 45 percent year-on-year to 11 million units, with Taiwan taking about 40 percent of the market, South Korea taking about 60 percent and China only 2 percent, Trendforce said.
In the first quarter, worldwide shipments of 65-inch TV panels are expected to hit 2.2 million, up 104 percent from a year earlier as Taiwan and South Korea have been focusing on efforts to supply larger TV screens, the advisory firm said.
As for 65-inch TV panels, Samsung Display has secured large orders from Samsung Group, one of the largest home appliance makers in the world, boosting overall shipments for South Korea, TrendForce said.
China is unlikely to see its global market grow significantly until next year when the nation’s new 10.5-generation production lines become operational, TrendForce said.
With major display suppliers in the global market concentrating on larger TV panel production, the average size of TV screens this year is expected to grow 7.3 percent from a year earlier, TrendForce said.
However, in terms of unit shipments, about 256 million TV screens will be shipped this year, down 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the advisory firm said.
The average size of TV panels on the world market this year is expected to increase 2 inches from a year earlier to 45.5 inches, TrendForce said.
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