A new analysis from Reportlinker.com details the market potential for 10-inch and smaller LCD panel makers, projecting the market will recede slightly from 2007 sales of $18.8 billion as the panel prices continue to decline and competition from OLED manufacturers attract new market segments.
Output value of medium- and small-sized panels, stimulated by a big jump in shipment of handsets and the prevalence of color display screens, hit US$18.3 billion in 2005. The prosperity resulted in the sharp rise in output capacity in 2005, leading directly to a fall in the average selling price of medium- and small-sized panels the following year.
In 2008, the average prices of TFT-LCD will decline, since numerous TFT-LCD production lines of manufacturers will be put into operation. Among the numerous TFT-LCD production lines, Wintek owns two 3G TFT-LCD production lines; Truly Semiconductor has one 2G production line; Tianma Microelectronics has one 4.5G production line; PVI has one 2.5G, one 3G and one 3.5G production line respectively, which were all acquired from BOE-HYDIS and Giantplus Technology owns a 3G production line.
According to Reportlinker, the growth rate of the key products, including mobile phone, digital camera, auto navigation and MP3, is expected to rise 10 percent year on year, lower than 20 percent growth in output capacity. So, it is natural that the average prices will drop in 2008. It is forecasted that AM OLED will be put on the market massively in 2009, which will raise the demand of medium- and small-size panels, counteracting partial drops in prices.
For more from the Reportlinker report, click here.
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