Large-sized panel shipment increases 6.7% to 110 million units in 2Q08, says WitsView

Taipei, July 24, 2008---Global aggregated large-sized panel shipments in 2Q08 reached 110.8 million units, a QoQ increase of 6.7% and a YoY growth of 22.4%, according to WitsView's latest shipment report The growth mainly stemmed from increases in IT panel shipments, especially the NB segment, where it jumped by 12.9% to 35.4 million units. Monitor panels were up quarterly by 5.5% to 51.6 million units. Meanwhile, TV panels were still more notably impacted by the slow season, where it edged up by 1.1% to 23.7 million units.

Region-wise, as the Korean players aggressively expanded their NB panel market share and benefited from the Tier 1 makers’ promotional sales, Korea’s market share rose 0.8 percentage point to 43.5%. Meanwhile, Sharp’s increased 32” panel output from its G8 raised Japan’s TV panel share by 1.9 percentage point to 14.7%. Finally, due to a decrease in Taiwan’s TV panel shipments, it’s TV panel share slightly fell 2.2 percentage point to 44.6%. Still, its market share was relatively the same as in Q1, approximately 50%.

In terms of each panel maker’s performance, Samsung topped the list, where it shipped 25.06 million panels in 2Q08. Among the 3 main applications, Samsung was the leader in both the TV and NB segments. For monitors, CMO was ranked No.1.

An earlier-than-usual inventory preparation was seen in 1Q08, as the market anticipated panel prices going up again in 2Q08. The strong demand led to panel prices rising in April. Yet, due to the weak macroeconomics and regional factors, the sales momentum was weak. Thus, after panel prices rose for a mere 2 months, it began to trend downward in June. For 2Q08, the ASP for each panel fell 5.3% from the previous quarter to $178. The ASP for each square meter slipped 3% to $1,150.

"For 1H08, aggregated shipments rose to 214.5 million units, up 31% over the same period of last year. Based on the 433.9 million panel estimate for 2008, the figure already accounts for 49%. In the IT panel segment, the ratio has already exceeded 50%," said H.P. Chang, head of WitsView's TFT-LCD research team. Thus, the earlier inventory pull-in can evidently be seen. For the market to see a rebound, the key will lie in clearing away the current excess panel and TV set inventory.

Looking into the traditional strong third quarter, the sharp panel price declines in July should stimulate the end market demand. Another boost will come from stronger LCD TV sales, as brand vendors aggressively plan for their next wave of promotions. Meanwhile, the back to school effect should help ease the current oversupply in retail channels. Still, if the negative external factors, such as high oil prices, inflation and credit squeeze problems continue to affect the market, WitsView projects the shipment volume for 3Q08 to be equivalent to 2Q08.

About WitsView

Founded in the year 2004, WitsView, a subsidiary brand of DRAMeXchange, is composed of a team of TFT-LCD industry experts. The research field covers the development and market trend of upstream components, mid stream panels and downstream system integrators and retailers.

For more about WitsView, please visit www.witsview.com