Liquid crystal display (LCD) TV panel manufacturers in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China have set higher shipment targets for next year, aiming for 19 percent growth from this year, market researcher DisplaySearch said on Thursday.
These vendors expect their shipments to increase to 247.3 million units next year from an estimated 207.8 million units this year on the back of demand in emerging markets, the launch of new products and promotions during the upcoming holiday shopping season, DisplaySearch said in a report.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co appears to be an aggressive vendor. It is aiming for 20 percent growth to 60 million units next year from 50.2 million this year, as sales of its televisions are improving and it is promoting its panels in China, according to the report.
TAIWANESE FIRMS
Taiwan’s Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) expects its panel shipments to grow 19 percent to 50 million units next year from 42 million this year, while another Taiwanese manufacturer, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), hopes to ship 35 million panels next year, an increase of 8 percent year-on-year from the 32.4 million units forecast for this year.
DisplaySearch said Chimei Innolux and AU Optronics would both benefit from outsourcing orders and strategic cooperation with Japanese manufacturers Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp.
Panasonic and Sharp forecast that their panel shipments would drop 30 percent and 13 percent year-on-year respectively because of a shift to large panels in general and smaller ones in mobile devices.
“The aggressive shipment targets show that the major brands have confidence in the outlook for 2012 and a recovery in buying, after their inventory adjustments this year,” said David Hsieh (謝勤益), vice president of DisplaySearch in charge of the Greater China market.
COST-CENTRIC
“LCD TV panel makers have also developed cost-centric products, designed to be thicker or less bright, to meet demand in different markets,” he said.
“This will help reduce the prices of whole set TVs and boost panel shipments in 2012,” Hsieh said.
However, if China decides to raise duties on semi-finished panels, this will give support to Chinese makers, while Taiwanese and South Korean vendors will be forced to take responsive measures, Hsieh said.
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