What They Say
TrendForce Research of Taiwan said that LCD monitor shipments reached 72.3 million units in the first half of 2022 – level with the same period a year ago. The relatively steady demand from commercial buyers has helped to avoid the dip seen in consumer markets. However, looking forward, a lot of catching up and re-organising for returning to offices has been done and so demand is expected to be down in the second half of the year. LCD monitor shipments are expected to decrease by 5.4% and 2.4% QoQ in 3Q22 and 4Q22, respectively. The proportion of shipments in the first and second half of the year will fall at approximately 51.7: 48.3.
Improvements in shipping speed have been seen but the inventory held by brands has risen.
For the year, the firm expects 139.9 million units, a decrease of 3.5%.
What We Think
It’s 40 years since I first had the conversation about ‘a poor Q2’ when I first realised that the monitor market was very seasonal. In the UK, Q1 was strong, followed by a weak Q2, with improvements in Q3 and a peak in Q4. Then, from 2000 until a couple of years ago, I researched the European market and saw the same pattern (apart from one year, when Q2 was really good – I never did get to work out what caused that good result!). So, a good Q2 is not completely unknown, but Q3 and Q4 weaker than Q1 and Q2 is certainly new (the Covid period excluded).
This news will not be welcome to those that might be hoping for some respite from the TV market by focusing on IT displays. (BR)
