TV panel prices and supply and demand are balancing out towards the end of the third quarter of 2018, according to Digitimes. Citing industry sources, the publication revealed that panel shipments for IT applications will grow incrementally, while demand for branded gaming and bezel-less LCD monitors will continue to increase.
The sources added that this price stability is being helped by strong TV inventories heading into the fourth quarter, a peak shopping season in the US, Europe and China. The average price of 32″ TV panels is expected to fall by a dollar to $55 in October, while the prices of other panel sizes will remain stable. This same peak-season preparation saw LCD TV panel prices rise in July and August, though the sources commented that the start of mass production at new lines from BOE and CEC in China has caused prices to plateau.
As Chinese fabs continue to run at maximum capacity in order to qualify for local government subsidies, Digitimes predicts that TV panel prices will drop in the fourth quarter as a result of oversupply. The publication’s sources remarked that, in the event of a major oversupply situation, many production lines will need to weight capacity allocation towards panels for IT products.
Paul Peng, chairman of AU Optronics, predicts that shipments of panels for TVs will remain strong until mid-November, with IT applications keeping pace through December. AUO is currently the number-one supplier of panels for gaming monitors. Digitimes notes that demand for gaming and bezel-less monitor panels has risen significantly.
