lcd panel price trend made in china

The price of LCD display panels for TVs is still falling in November and is on the verge of falling back to the level at which it initially rose two years ago (in June 2020). Liu Yushi, a senior analyst at CINNO Research, told China State Grid reporters that the wave of “falling tide” may last until June this year. For related panel companies, after the performance surge in the past year, they will face pressure in 2022.

LCD display panel prices for TVs will remain at a high level throughout 2021 due to the high base of 13 consecutive months of increase, although the price of LCD display panels peaked in June last year and began to decline rapidly. Thanks to this, under the tight demand related to panel enterprises last year achieved substantial profit growth.

According to China State Grid, the annual revenue growth of major LCD display panel manufacturers in China (Shentianma A, TCL Technology, Peking Oriental A, Caihong Shares, Longteng Optoelectronics, AU, Inolux Optoelectronics, Hanyu Color Crystal) in 2021 is basically above double digits, and the net profit growth is also very obvious. Some small and medium-sized enterprises directly turn losses into profits. Leading enterprises such as BOE and TCL Technology more than doubled their net profit.

Take BOE as an example. According to the 2021 financial report released by BOE A, BOE achieved annual revenue of 219.31 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 61.79%; Net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies reached 25.831 billion yuan, up 412.96% year on year. “The growth is mainly due to the overall high economic performance of the panel industry throughout the year, and the acquisition of the CLP Panda Nanjing and Chengdu lines,” said Xu Tao, chief electronics analyst at Citic Securities.

In his opinion, as BOE dynamically optimizes its product structure, and its flexible OLED continues to enter the supply chain of major customers, BOE‘s market share as the panel leader is expected to increase further and extend to the Internet of Things, which is optimistic about the company’s development in the medium and long term.

TCL explained that the major reasons for the significant year-on-year growth in revenue and profit were the significant year-on-year growth of the company’s semiconductor display business shipment area, the average price of major products and product profitability, and the optimization of the business mix and customer structure further enhanced the contribution of product revenue.

“There are two main reasons for the ideal performance of domestic display panel enterprises.” A color TV industry analyst believes that, on the one hand, under the effect of the epidemic, the demand for color TV and other electronic products surges, and the upstream raw materials are in shortage, which leads to the short supply of the panel industry, the price rises, and the corporate profits increase accordingly. In addition, as Samsung and LG, the two-panel giants, gradually withdrew from the LCD panel field, they put most of their energy and funds into the OLED(organic light-emitting diode) display panel industry, resulting in a serious shortage of LCD display panels, which objectively benefited China’s local LCD display panel manufacturers such as BOE and TCL China Star Optoelectronics.

Liu Yushi analyzed to reporters that relevant TV panel enterprises made outstanding achievements in 2021, and panel price rise is a very important contributing factor. In addition, three enterprises, such as BOE(BOE), CSOT(TCL China Star Optoelectronics) and HKC(Huike), accounted for 55% of the total shipments of LCD TV panels in 2021. It will be further raised to 60% in the first quarter of 2022. In other words, “simultaneous release of production capacity, expand market share, rising volume and price” is also one of the main reasons for the growth of these enterprises. However, entering the low demand in 2022, LCD TV panel prices continue to fall, and there is some uncertainty about whether the relevant panel companies can continue to grow.

According to Media data, in February this year, the monthly revenue of global large LCD panels has been a double decline of 6.80% month-on-month and 6.18% year-on-year, reaching $6.089 billion. Among them, TCL China Star and AU large-size LCD panel revenue maintained year-on-year growth, while BOE, Innolux, and LG large-size LCD panel monthly revenue decreased by 16.83%, 14.10%, and 5.51% respectively.

Throughout Q1, according to WitsView data, the average LCD TV panel price has been close to or below the average cost, and cash cost level, among which 32-inch LCD TV panel prices are 4.03% and 5.06% below cash cost, respectively; The prices of 43 and 65 inch LCD TV panels are only 0.46% and 3.42% higher than the cash cost, respectively.

The market decline trend is continuing, the reporter queried Omdia, WitsView, Sigmaintel(group intelligence consulting), Oviriwo, CINNO Research, and other institutions regarding the latest forecast data, the analysis results show that the price of the TV LCD panels is expected to continue to decline in April. According to CINNO Research, for example, prices for 32 -, 43 – and 55-inch LCD TV panels in April are expected to fall $1- $3 per screen from March to $37, $65, and $100, respectively. Prices of 65 – and 75-inch LCD TV panels will drop by $8 per screen to $152 and $242, respectively.

“In the face of weak overall demand, major end brands requested panel factories to reduce purchase volumes in March due to high inventory pressure, which led to the continued decline in panel prices in April.” Beijing Di Xian Information Consulting Co., LTD. Vice general manager Yi Xianjing so analysis said.

“Since 2021, international logistics capacity continues to be tight, international customers have a long delivery cycle, some orders in the second half of the year were transferred to the first half of the year, pushing up the panel price in the first half of the year but also overdraft the demand in the second half of the year, resulting in the panel price began to decline from June last year,” Liu Yush told reporters, and the situation between Russia and Ukraine has suddenly escalated this year. It also further affected the recovery of demand in Europe, thus prolonging the downward trend in prices. Based on the current situation, Liu predicted that the bottom of TV panel prices will come in June 2022, but the inflection point will be delayed if further factors affect global demand and lead to additional cuts by brands.

With the price of TV panels falling to the cash cost line, in Liu’s opinion, some overseas production capacity with old equipment and poor profitability will gradually cut production. The corresponding profits of mainland panel manufacturers will inevitably be affected. However, due to the advantages in scale and cost, there is no urgent need for mainland panel manufacturers to reduce the dynamic rate. It is estimated that Q2’s dynamic level is only 3%-4% lower than Q1’s. “We don’t have much room to switch production because the prices of IT panels are dropping rapidly.”

Ovirivo analysts also pointed out that the current TV panel factory shipment pressure and inventory pressure may increase. “In the first quarter, the production line activity rate is at a high level, and the panel factory has entered the stage of loss. If the capacity is not adjusted, the panel factory will face the pressure of further decline in panel prices and increased losses.”

In the first quarter of this year, the retail volume of China’s color TV market was 9.03 million units, down 8.8% year on year. Retail sales totaled 28 billion yuan, down 10.1 percent year on year. Under the situation of volume drop, the industry expects this year color TV manufacturers will also set off a new round of LCD display panel prices war.

Prices for all TV panel sizes fluctuated and are forecast to fluctuate between 2020 and 2022. The period from March 2020 to July 2021 saw the biggest price increases, when a 65" UHD panel cost between 171 and 288 U.S. dollars. In the fourth quarter of 2021, such prices fell and are expected to drop to an even lower amount by March 2022.Read moreLCD TV panel prices worldwide from January 2020 to March 2022, by size(in U.S. dollars)Characteristic32" HD43" FHD49"/50" UHD55" UHD65" UHD------

DSCC. (January 10, 2022). LCD TV panel prices worldwide from January 2020 to March 2022, by size (in U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved February 02, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288400/lcd-tv-panel-price-by-size/

DSCC. "LCD TV panel prices worldwide from January 2020 to March 2022, by size (in U.S. dollars)." Chart. January 10, 2022. Statista. Accessed February 02, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288400/lcd-tv-panel-price-by-size/

DSCC. (2022). LCD TV panel prices worldwide from January 2020 to March 2022, by size (in U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: February 02, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288400/lcd-tv-panel-price-by-size/

DSCC. "Lcd Tv Panel Prices Worldwide from January 2020 to March 2022, by Size (in U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 10 Jan 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288400/lcd-tv-panel-price-by-size/

DSCC, LCD TV panel prices worldwide from January 2020 to March 2022, by size (in U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288400/lcd-tv-panel-price-by-size/ (last visited February 02, 2023)

LCD TV panel prices worldwide from January 2020 to March 2022, by size (in U.S. dollars) [Graph], DSCC, January 10, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288400/lcd-tv-panel-price-by-size/

In 2021, LCD panel prices are expected to climb in 1Q, remain flat in 2Q, and decline from 3Q. Backed by ongoing facility expansions, Chinese LCD panel makers should see a continuing rise in M/S. In addition, a recent blackout at the Japanese factory of NEG, a glass substrate maker, should also benefit Chinese firms.

LCD panel prices, which ended high in 2020, are expected to continue rising in 1Q21 on an anticipated decrease in glass substrate supply. On Dec 10, a power outage occurred at NEG’s Takatsuki plant in Japan. With normalization at the Takatsuki plant expected in 1Q21, domestic and Taiwanese panel makers’ sourcing of glass substrate is unlikely to proceed smoothly in the near future. In 2Q21, an acceleration in panel production alongside normalized supply of glass substrate should prevent LCD panel price growth. The rate of glass substrate supply excess is forecast to widen from 0.5% in 1Q21 to 3.6% in 2Q21.

LCD panel prices are forecast to decline from 3Q21, as supply should exceed demand. We expect supply excess for LCD panels to reach 3.2% in 3Q21 and 3.4% in 4Q21 on the back of ongoing production expansion at Chinese manufacturers.

Chinese LCD panel makers are to continue expanding their production capacity, centering on 8G-and-above facilities, in a bid to increase M/S. Given Korea’s withdrawal from the LCD arena, we expect the global number of LCD production facilities (8G or higher) to fall from 32 in 2020 to 31 in 2021 to 30 in 2022. On the other hand, with Chinese panel makers ramping up investment, the portion of Chinese manufacturers is to increase from 63% in 2020 to 68% in 2021 to 78% in 2022, with China coming to claim a market-leading position.

Of note, Chinese panel makers are highly likely to see M/S expansion in 1Q21, as they are insulated from the effects of NEG’s Takatsuki power outage. Chinese companies’ glass substrate supply chain has diversified to encompass Corning, AGC, and NEG (China, Xiamen plant).

(Yicai Global) June 13 -- BOE Technology Group, TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology and other big Chinese liquid crystal display manufacturers are reducing output starting from this month to try and stop a freefall in prices caused by a global glut.

Panel makers are cutting production by 16 percent on average from this month, Rong Chaoping, senior researcher at market research firm AVC Revo, told Yicai Global. Television panel makers are expected to ship 3.6 million less panels than last month.

Panel makers will reduce capacity by between 15 and 20 percent this month, said Wu Rongbing, chief analyst at Chinese semiconductor intelligence service Omdia.

LCD TV display shipments from China’s five largest panel manufacturers accounted for 68.5 percent of the global market in April, a new high, and they were expected to exceed 70 percent this year, according to Omdia.

But there is much less demand for notebook computers, monitors and TVs now that fewer people are working from home as the Covid-19 pandemic wanes and amid pressure from global inflation. This is driving prices down, said Li Yaqin, general manager of market research firm Sigmaintell.

The global panel industry is expected to slash production by about 20 percent this year, according to Beijing-based Sigmaintell. It is the first time since 2013 that the worldwide sector has implemented such a large-scale and wide-ranging cut in manufacturing. But it should help to slow the fall in prices, Li said.

“Tumbling prices are squeezing profits,” Li said. “The price of a TV panel is now below cost price and that of some data panels is also below the manufacturing cost.”

The price of small and medium-sized TV displays has more than halved since the highest point last year, and that of large-sized screens have fallen by more than 40 percent, according to AVC Revo.

“Panel makers are facing rising liquidity pressure and bigger losses as prices are now below cost price, so the display industry is likely to undergo another big reshuffle,” Rong said.

Excess supply will ease in the third quarter once output is cut, and prices will start to pick up and then flatten out, Li said. Demand for consumer electronic products is shrinking by far more than expected so it is too early to tell whether prices will rebound in the second half, she added.

Panel prices are likely to stop dropping this month or next as output falls, Wu said. Whether prices will start to pick up soon depends on when demand improves.

Chinese display panel makers accounted for nearly half of the share in the global liquid crystal display TV panel market in the first half of this year, dominating the industry.

Beijing-based market researcher Sigmaintell Consulting said shipments of LCD TV panels worldwide totaled 140 million pieces in the year"s first half, up 3.6 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

The supply of TV panels though has surpassed demand due to the slowdown in the global economy and weaker consumer purchasing power. Manufacturers are facing severe challenges from falling panel prices, the Sigmaintell report said.

The shipment of BOE"s LCD TV panels stood at 27.6 million in the Jan-June period while LG Display followed with 22.7 million, down 4.5 percent year-on-year. Innolux Display Group was in third place, having shipped 21.9 million units.

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd, a subsidiary of consumer electronics giant TCL Corp, ranked fourth, shipping 19.3 million pieces of TV panels. Chinese panel makers accounted for a 45.8 percent share in the global LCD TV panel market.

Sigmaintell estimated that the gap between supply and demand would widen further, and the panel market may face a long-term risk of oversupply. The industry may have to undergo a reshuffle given fierce market competition, it said.

The panel makers must reduce costs, optimize their internal structures, promote technological innovation and explore more innovative applications, the report by the consultancy said.

Separately, BOE"s Gen 10.5 TFTLCD production line has entered operation in Hefei, Anhui province. The plant will produce high-definition LCD screens of 65 inches and above.

CSOT also announced in November last year that its Gen 11 TFT-LCD and active-matrix OLED production line had officially began operation. The project will produce 43-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch liquid crystal display screens.

China is expected to replace South Korea as the world"s largest flat-panel display producer in 2019, a report from the China Video Industry Association and the China Optics and Optoelectronics Manufacturers Association said.

"The average size of TV panels is likely to increase 1.4 inches in 2019. The 65-inch dimension will become the most popular size of TV," Li Yaqin, general manager of Sigmaintell, said while adding the 65-inch TV will become the mainstream screen in people"s living rooms in the future.

Compared with traditional LCD display panels, OLED has a fast response rate, wide viewing angles, high-contrast images and richer colors. It is thinner and can be made flexible.

Wen Jianping, president of All View Cloud, a Beijing-based consultancy specializing in home appliances, said the price of OLED TVs will continue to fall in the next two years, with sales rising to 380,000 units this year, and reaching 800,000 units in 2020.

LCD panel prices have risen for 4 months in a row because of your home gaming? Since this year, the whole LCD panel market smoke. Whether after the outbreak of the epidemic, LCD panel market prices rose for four months, or the panel giants in Japan and South Korea successively sold production lines, or the Chinese mainland listed companies frequently integrated acquisition, investment, and plant construction, all make the industry full of interesting.

LCD panel pricesare already a fact. Since May this year, LCD panel prices have risen for four months in a row, making the whole industry chain dynamic. Why are LCD panels going up in price in a volatile 2020? The key factor lies in the imbalance between supply and demand.

For larger sizes, overseas stocks remained strong, with prices for 65 inches and 75 inches rising $10 on average to $200 and $305 respectively in September.

The price of LCDS for large-size TVs of 70 inches or more hasn"t budged much. In addition, LTPS screens and AMOLED screens used in high-end phones have seen little or no increase in price.

As for October, LCD panel price increases are expected to moderate. The data shows that in October 32 inches or 2 dollars; Gains of 39.5 to 43 inches will shrink to $3;55 inches will fall back below $10; The 65-inch gain will narrow to $5.

During the epidemic, people stayed at home and had no way to go out for entertainment. They relied on TV sets, PCS, and game consoles for entertainment. After the resumption of economic work and production, the market of traditional home appliances picked up rapidly, and LCD production capacity was quickly digested.

However, due to the shutdown of most factories lasting 1-2 months during the epidemic period, LCD panel production capacity was limited, leading to insufficient production capacity in the face of the market outbreak, which eventually led to the market shortage and price increase for 4 consecutive months.

In fact, the last round of price rise of LCD panel was from 2016 to 2017, and its overall market price has continued to fall since 2018. Even in 2019, individual types have fallen below the material cost, and the whole industry has experienced a general operating loss. As a result, LCD makers have been looking for ways to improve margins since last year.

A return to a reasonable price range is the most talked about topic among panel makers in 2019, according to one practitioner. Some manufacturers for the serious loss of the product made the decision to reduce production or even stop production; Some manufacturers planned to raise the price, but due to the epidemic in 2020, the downstream demand was temporarily suppressed and the price increase was postponed. After the outbreak was contained in April, LCD prices began to rise in mid-to-late May.

This kind of price correction is in line with the law of industrial development. Only with reasonable profit space can the whole industry be stimulated to move forward.

In fact, the market price of LCD panels continued to decline in 2018-2019 because of the accelerated rise of China"s LCD industry and the influx of a large number of local manufacturers, which doubled the global LCD panel production capacity within a few years, but there was no suitable application market to absorb it. The result of excess capacity is oversupply, ultimately making LCD panel prices remain depressed.

Against this background, combined with the impact of the epidemic in 2020, the operating burden of LCD companies in Japan and South Korea has been further aggravated, and it is difficult to make profits in the production of LCD panels, so they have to announce the withdrawal of LCD business.

business in June 2022. In August, Sharp bought JDI Baishan, a plant in Ishikawa prefecture that makes liquid crystal display panels for smartphones. In early September, Samsung Display sold a majority stake in its SUZHOU LCD production plant to Starlight Electronics Technology, a unit of TCL Technology Group. LGD has not only pulled out of some of its production capacity but has announced that it will close its local production line in 2020. According to DSCC, a consultancy, the share of LCD production capacity in South Korea alone will fall from 19% to 7% between 2020 and 2021.

It is worth mentioning that in industry analysis, in view of the fact that Korean companies are good at using "dig through old bonus - selling high price - the development of new technology" the cycle of development mode, another 2020 out of the LCD production capacity, the main reason may be: taking the advantage of China"s expanding aggressively LCD manufacturers, Korean companies will own LCD panel production line hot sell, eliminating capacity liquid to extract its final value, and turning to the more profitable advantage of a new generation of display technologies, such as thinner, color display better OLED, etc. Samsung, for example, has captured more than 80% of the OLED market with its first-mover advantage.

From the perspective of production capacity, the launch of LCD tracks by major manufacturers in Japan and South Korea must reduce some production capacity in the short term, which to some extent induces market price fluctuations. In the long run, some of the Japanese and Korean LCD production capacity has been bought by Chinese manufacturers, coupled with frequent investment in recent years, the overall capacity is sure to recover as before, or even more than before. But now it will take time to expand the production layout, more or less will cause supply imbalance, the industry needs to be cautious.

The LCD panel industry started in the United States and then gradually moved to Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. At present, the proportion of production capacity in The Chinese mainland has reached 52% in 2020, and there are leading LCD panel products in China represented by BOE, Huxing Optoelectronics. Meanwhile, the production capacity layout of BOE, Huike, Huxing Optoelectronics, and other manufacturers has been basically completed, making industrial integration a necessity.

On the one hand, South Korean enterprises out of the LCD track, the domestic factory horse enclosure, plant expansion action. While LCDs may not sell as well as "upstart" flexible screens, respondents believe they are still strong enough in the traditional home appliance market to warrant continued investment. Zhao Bin, general manager of TCL Huaxing Development Center, has said publicly that the next-generation display technology will be mature in four to five years, but the commercialization of products may not take place until a decade later. "LCD will still be the mainstream in this decade," he said.

On the other hand, there is no risk of neck jam in China"s LCD panel industry, which is generally controllable. In mainland China, there will be 21 production lines capable of producing 32-inch or larger LCD panels by 2021, accounting for about two-thirds of the global total. In terms of the proportion of production capacity, the Chinese mainland accounted for 42% of the global LCD panel in 2019, 51% this year, and will continue to climb to 63% next year.

Of course, building factories and expanding production cannot be accomplished overnight. In the process of production capacity recovery, it is predicted that there will be several price fluctuations, and the cost may be passed on to the downstream LCD panel manufacturers or consumers when the price rises greatly, which requires continuous attention.

Large LCD panel prices have been continuously increasing for last 10 months due to an increase in demand and tight supply. This has helped the LCD industry to recover from drastic panel price reductions, revenue and profit loss in 2019. It has also contributed to the growth of Quantum Dot and MiniLED LCD TV.

Strong LCD TV panel demand is expected to continue in 2021, but component shortages, supply constraints and very high panel price increase can still create uncertainties.

LCD TV panel capacity increased substantially in 2019 due to the expansion in the number of Gen 10.5 fabs. After growth in 2018, LCD TV demand weakened in 2019 caused by slower economic growth, trade war and tariff rate increases. Capacity expansion and higher production combined with weaker demand resulted in considerable oversupply of LCD TV panels in 2019 leading to drastic panel price reductions. Some panel prices went below cash cost, forcing suppliers to cut production and delay expansion plans to reduce losses.

Panel over-supply also brought down panel prices to way lower level than what was possible through cost improvement. Massive 10.5 Gen capacity that can produce 8-up 65" and 6-up 75" panels from a single mother glass substrate helped to reduce larger size LCD TV panel costs. Also extremely low panel price in 2019 helped TV brands to offer larger size LCD TV (>60-inch size) with better specs and technology (Quantum Dot & MiniLED) at more competitive prices, driving higher shipments and adoption rates in 2019 and 2020.

While WOLED TV had higher shipment share in 2018, Quantum Dot and MiniLED based LCD TV gained higher unit shares both in 2019 and 2020 according to Omdia published data. This trend is expected to continue in 2021 and in the next few years with more proliferation of Quantum Dot and MiniLED TVs.

Panel suppliers’ financial results suffered in 2019 as they lost money. Suppliers from China, Korea and Taiwan all lowered their utilization rates in the second half of 2019 to reduce over-supply. Very low prices combined with lower utilization rates made the revenue and profitability situation for panel suppliers difficult in 2019. BOE and China Star cut the utilization rates of their Gen 10.5 fabs. Sharp delayed the start of production at its 10.5 Gen fab in China. LGD and Samsung display decided to shift away from LCD more towards OLED and QDOLED respectively. Both companies cut utilization rates in their 7, 7.5 and 8.5 Gen fabs. Taiwanese suppliers also cut their 8.5 Gen fab utilization rates.

Some suppliers also shifted capacity away from TV to other applications. In summary, drastic price reduction resulted in a cut in utilization rates, delays in fab construction and ramp-ups and the closing down of older fabs, or conversion to OLED or QDOLED fabs. This helped to reduce oversupply.

An increase in demand for larger size TVs in the second half of 2020 combined with component shortages has pushed the market to supply constraint and caused continuous panel price increases from June 2020 to March 2021. Market demand for tablets, notebooks, monitors and TVs increased in 2020 especially in the second half of the year due to the impact of "stay at home" regulations, when work from home, education from home and more focus on home entertainment pushed the demand to higher level.

With stay at home continuing in the firts half of 2021 and expected UEFA Europe football tournaments and the Olympic in Japan (July 23), TV brands are expecting stronger demand in 2021. The panel price increase resulting in higher costs for TV brands. It has also made it difficult for lower priced brands (Tier2/3) to acquire enough panels to offer lower priced TVs. Further, panel suppliers are giving priority to top brands with larger orders during supply constraint. In recent quarters, the top five TV brands including Samsung, LG, and TCL have been gaining higher market share.

From June 2020 to January 2021, the 32" TV panel price has increased more than 100%, whereas 55" TV panel prices have increased more than 75% and the 65" TV panel price has increased more than 38% on average according to DSCC data. Panel prices continued to increase through Q1 and the trend is expected to continue in Q2 2021 due to component shortages.

In last few months top glass suppliers Corning, NEG and AGC have all experienced production problems. A tank failure at Corning, a power outage at NEG and an accident at an AGC glass plant all resulted in glass supply constraints when demand and production has been increasing. In March this year Corning announced its plan to increase glass prices in Q2 2021. Corning has also increased supply by starting glass tank in Korea to supply China’s 10.5 Gen fabs that are ramping up. Most of the growth in capacity is coming from Gen 8.6 and Gen 10.5 fabs in China.

Major increases in panel prices from June 2020, have increased costs and reduced profits for TV brand manufacturers. TV brands are starting to increase TV set prices slowly in certain segments. Notebook brands are also planning to raise prices for new products to reflect increasing costs. Monitor prices are starting to increase in some segments. Despite this, buyers are still unable to fullfill orders due to supply issues.

TV panel prices increased in Q4 2020 and are also expected to increase in the first half of 2021. This can create challenges for brand manufacturers as it reduces their ability to offer more attractive prices in coming months to drive demand. Still, set-price increases up to March have been very mild and only in certain segments. Some brands are still offering price incentives to consumers in spite of the cost increases. For example, in the US market retailers cut prices of big screen LCD and OLED TV to entice basketball fans in March.

Higher LCD price and tight supply helped LCD suppliers to improve their financial performance in the second half of 2020. This caused a number of LCD suppliers especially in China to decide to expand production and increase their investment in 2021.

New opportunities for MiniLED based products that reduce the performance gap with OLED, enabling higher specs and higher prices are also driving higher investment in LCD production. Suppliers from China already have achieved a majority share of TFT-LCD capacity.

BOE has acquired Gen 8.5/8.6 fabs from CEC Panda. ChinaStar has acquired a Gen 8.5 fab in Suzhou from Samsung Display. Recent panel price increases have also resulted in Samsung and LGD delaying their plans to shut down LCD production. These developments can all help to improve supply in the second half of 2021. Fab utilization rates in Taiwan and China stayed high in the second half of 2020 and are expected to stay high in the first half of 2021.

Price increases for TV sets are still not widespread yet and increases do not reflect the full cost increase. However, if set prices continue to increase to even higher levels, there is the potential for an impact on demand.

QLED and MiniLED gained share in the premium TV market in 2019, impacting OLED shares and aided by low panel prices. With the LCD panel price increases in 2020 the cost gap between OLED TV and LCD has gone down in recent quarters.

OLED TV also gained higher market share in the premium TV market especially sets from LG and Sony in the last quarter of 2020, according to industry data. LG Display is implimenting major capacity expansion of its OLED TV panels with its Gen 8.5 fab in China.Strong sales in Q4 2020 and new product sizes such as 48-inch and 88-inch have helped LG Display’s OLED TV fabs to have higher utilization rates.

Samsung is also planning to start production of QDOLED in 2021. Higher production and cost reductions for OLED TV may help OLED to gain shares in the premium TV market if the price gap continues to reduce with LCD.

Lower tier brands are not able to offer aggressive prices due to the supply constraint and panel price increases. If these conditions continue for too long, TV demand could be impacted.

Strong LCD TV demand especially for Quantum Dot and MiniLED TV is expected to continue in 2021. The economic recovery and sports events (UEFA Europe footbal and the Olympics in Japan) are expected to drive demand for TV, but component shortages, supply constraints and too big a price increase could create uncertainties. Panel suppliers have to navigate a delicate balance of capacity management and panel prices to capture the opportunity for higher TV demand. (SD)

After a short-term upward trend, LCD TV panel prices lack the momentum to continue to rise as end demand has not recovered. In Q4, LCD TV peak season promotions have yet to achieve the expected perf