US students will soon be returning to school and major monitor OEMS such as Dell and HP have cleared out the inventory that accumulated during the first half of the year. That happy concatenation of events has produced a rush of orders, to monitor manufacturers according to research from Displaybank.

Ken Werner
Senior Analyst and Editor
of HDTV Retailer and
Mobile Display Report

Panel manufacturers reduced production starting in June and continuing throughout 3Q, so the swollen inventory levels seen at the end of 2Q are now improving, and Displaybank expects them to return to "an appropriate level" now that the monitor makers have an increasing need for panels. Samsung Electronics and TPV Technology - the top leading LCD monitor manufacturers - intend to boost their production by 25% and 18%, respectively, in 3Q over 2Q.

Source: Displaybank, compiled by DigiTimes, August 2006.

As a result of the increased demand, panel prices, which declined throughout the first half, began increasing in July and continued to increase in August. The ASP for 17-inch panels rose to $110 during the first half of the month, said WitsView Technology, up $6 from the previous half month, and up from $100 in early July. This compares with $170 at the end of 2005.

As a result of the increasing demand, the supply of Gen 5 glass will soon tighten, industry sources told DigiTimes for a story that was published today. This is true because monitor and notebook panels are now produced primarily at Gen 5 plants, as are some smaller TV panels.