-
Taiwanese large size TFT LCD panel shipment volume grew 20.2% year on year to reach 8.1 million units in the second quarter of 2003. Approximately 77% of such shipments were panels for LCD monitor applications, with 22% shipped for notebook PCs.
14.1", 15", and 17" panels comprised roughly 94.7% of total shipment volume. 15" panels continued to dominate shipment share, while 18" panels virtually disappeared, indicative of Taiwanese maker's strategic targeting of mainstream sizes. 14.1" and 15" panels remained the mainstream for notebook PCs, accounting for 97.1% of shipments for notebook PC applications.
Driven by growth in shipment volume and increasing shipments of large-sized panels for use in LCD TVs, Taiwanese TFT LCD shipment value climbed 20.4% sequentially to approximately US$1.6 billion in the second quarter of 2003. ASP grew 8.4% from the first quarter of 2003.
With the global panel supply shortage continuing into the third quarter of 2003, yield rate increases on new lines and capacity expansions are expected to boost shipment volume and value. However, yield rate improvements from fifth generation plants and one-drop-fill (ODF) production processes, as well as sufficient capacity and yields from color filter suppliers, could present challenges in the third quarter.
In the third quarter notebook PC shipment volume is anticipated to see a dramatic increase, and in light of Taiwanese panel makers aggressive capacity expansions to produce panel for notebook PC applications, notebook PC panel shipments are likely to see a considerable climb. Due to aggressive investment by Taiwanese panel suppliers and the gradual warming up of the LCD TV market, LCD TV panel shipments are expected to continue seeing exponential growth.