Prices for liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels used in TVs and computers are expected to rise further in the second half of this month as output increase may not be able to match rebounding demand, market researcher DisplaySearch said in its latest report.
That will increase the chances for local panel makers to get out of the red after government economic stimulus measures sparked consumer purchases of electronic devices, one analyst said.
“TV panel supply cannot meet demand, not only because demand from China is especially strong, but also because the supply of components is becoming an issue and impacting panel supply,” said DisplaySearch, which is based in Austin, Texas.
Taiwanese panel makers, which were the biggest suppliers of LCD TV and PC panels in the world last year, now face a shortage of more than 15 percent on glass supply, DisplaySearch said in the report on Saturday.
Panel makers may hike prices by 2.63 percent, or about US$5, for the mainstream 32-inch LCD TV panels to US$195 per unit in the second half of this month, the report showed. Prices for panels used in computers may also increase by more than 1.36 percent.
Next month, TV panel prices may extend this month’s uptick, the researcher said. Some panel makers intended to raise prices aggressively by US$15 to US$20 for some models, it said.
“China TV brands are requesting more panel supply, especially, from Taiwan panel suppliers,” DisplaySearch said.
The demand may partly offset slowing demand in Europe and North America, the report said.
Taipei-based researcher Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所) expected price for flat panels used in TVs and PCs to bounce back by 5.9 percent in the third quarter after a forecast of a 13.1 percent rebound in the second quarter, primarily because of a spike in demand from China and the introduction of new computers such as low-power models.
The rebound may help the nation’s two largest panel makers, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), return to profitability next quarter as their factory utilization is expected to rise to 85 percent in the period from next month to September, from between 40 percent and 50 percent in the first quarter.
“We believe panel prices will rise to reach the cash cost of most panel makers in the second quarter and may exceed that level in the third quarter,” Topology analyst Corwin Lee (李秋緯) told the Taipei Times last week.
AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics may earn NT$6.63 billion (US$202 million) and NT$6.84 billion respectively next quarter.
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