Taiwanese large size liquid crystal display (LCD) panel shipment volume will respectively hit 20.9 million units and 25.1 million units in the second and third quarter of 2005, according to Market Intelligence Center (MIC), an ICT industry research institute based in Taipei. The forecasted second quarter shipment volume translates into 9.3% sequential growth and 40.9% year-on-year.
Due to the ongoing capacity boost from Taiwanese panel makers as well as on Korean and Chinese production lines, the industry's overall capacity will rise considerably in the second quarter, consequently relieving the tight supply for some panel sizes.
"However, the continuous expansion will exacerbate the existing oversupply in the industry, further pushing down panel prices," said Katherine Chou, an industry analyst with MIC. "Presuming that market demand will be effectively spurred by falling panel prices, Taiwanese large TFT LCD panel shipments will strike high in the traditionally slack second quarter," Chou added.
MIC also expects that on entering the second half of 2005, rising demand as well as upping panel capacity and yield rates will ramp up third quarter shipments.
As is estimated by MIC, Taiwanese large TFT LCD panel shipment volume increased over 50% year-on-year and 12.5% sequentially in the first quarter of 2005. Shipment value amounted to US$3.1 billion, posting 15% sequential growth though declining slightly year-on-year. Average selling price (ASP) tilted upwards, due to the popularity of larger panels.
Nonetheless, despite improving product mix, the high production costs of larger sized panels combined with the downward spin in panel prices has delivered a hard blow to maker profits. "Although makers hope to improve revenues by revising up the price for some sizes that are tight in supply, reservations exist for the fear of curtailing consumer demand and generating oversupply," observed Chou.
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About MIC
Market Intelligence Center, based in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1987. MIC is Taiwan's premier IT industry research and consulting firm providing intelligence, in-depth analysis, and strategic consulting services on global IT product and technology trends, focusing on markets and industries in Asia-Pacific. MIC is part of the Institute for Information Industry. https://mic.iii.org.tw/english