According to Sigmaintell Consulting, during January, 19.63 million LCD TV panels were shipped globally which was a fall of 8.4% on month and 1.3% on year. Shipments of 32″ LCD TV panels fell 18.6% on year and 40″ panels also fell to 13.7% on year. However, 49″ units rose 105% and 65 inch units rose 103%, which suggests that there is a growing demand for large screen sizes and a falling demand for smaller ones. BOE Technology has reduced output of 32″ LCD TV panels due to the lower demand.
Both Samsung Display and LG Display changed their focus onto high-end LCD TV panels, with 4K units accounting for over 50% of total shipments for Samsung and nearly 50% for LG.
Sigmaintell Consulting pointed out that both Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics place huge demands for TV panels on Samsung Display and LG Display respectively, and hence shipments to other panel users are sometimes restricted. The LCD TV panel prices have been rising and this could affect the demand from TV vendors if the prices rise further. Due to decreasing demand, production capacity for handset and IT applications could be moved to support TV panel production.
