Reacting to sluggish sales of its 15.4-inch, TFT LCD notebook panel, QDI (Quanta Display) announced that it has begun to raise the production share for its 15-inch LCD monitor panels. As a result, volume of such panels for the month of June increased by approximately 100,000-150,000 units. Furthermore, QDI has strategically lowered prices in order to squeeze itself further into a tight market.

 

The current market prices for 17-inch and 19-inch monitors have already started to drop. The price on 17-inch monitors has dropped by around US$3 to US$5 to an average of US$290. The price drop for 19-inch monitors has been more significant, averaging between US$5 and US$10. Meanwhile, a short supply of 15-inch monitors has helped hold up market prices at around US$230-US$235. At present, the primary Taiwanese suppliers of 15-inch LCD monitor panels are Hannstar and ChungHwa Picture.

 

In announcing its intention to lean production toward 15-inch LCD monitors, QDI also revealed new statistics on the breakdown of its production share. The company's production is split almost evenly between notebook applications (50-55%) and LCD monitor applications (45-50%), whereas TV display panels account for less than 5%. In terms of LCD monitor panels, 17-inch sizes account for roughly 25%-30% of total production. In the past, 40%-50% of QDI's overall production was focused on 17-inch sizes, illustrating that QDI has already shifted part of its production share from 17-inch monitor panels to 15-inch monitor panels.