After several monthly declines, large-sized panel shipments finally experience an increase in February, reports WitsView

Taipei, March 18, 2009---According to WitsView’s survey, global large-sized panel shipments (including the 8.9” and above) reached 27.82 million units in Feb09, up by 25.1% MoM. But on a YoY basis, it still amounted to a 16.1% fall. After 5 consecutive monthly declines since Sep08, an increase was finally witnessed in Feb09. This was mainly attributed to the downstream vendors and retailers inventory restocking in the start of the new 2009 fiscal year. Coupled by China’s “Home Appliances to the Countryside” policy, the growth momentum behind monitor and small-sized TV shipments grew considerably. The current utilization rates can not catch up with the influx of rush orders. The previous uncertain panel order visibility has become clearer through April. Nevertheless, in the wake of last year’s sluggish market conditions, most panel makers are still conservatively observing the market demand after May.

Based on the notable panel shipment increases in Feb09, the short-term market fundamentals have indeed improved. However, aside from TV panels reaching similar shipment levels in the same period of last year, the IT segment were still much lower over the same period in 2008. Thus, close attention should be placed on how the IT products perform during the traditional strong seasonality in 2H09, and how it may affect the general supply chain and market potential of different regions.

In Feb09, double-digit shipment increases were seen for all 3 major applications. In the IT panel segment, the 8.9” and above Netbooks and conventional NB panels increased by 22.1% MoM to 8.344 million units. The growth mainly stemmed from the sharp increase of Netbooks, as such products have grown very popular amid the slowing global economy. Meanwhile, monitor panels were up by 36.4% MoM to 11.85 million units. Posting the largest monthly increase compared to the other two applications, the explosive growth was attributed to the downstream brand and retailer inventory replenishments. Finally, thanks to China’s electronic product subsidy program for rural areas and a small demand increase in Europe, TV panels climbed by 13.6% MoM to 7.621 million units.

TFT-LCD Panel Shipment in Feb-09 (K units)

In terms of the aggregated area shipments, they grew by 18.5% MoM from 3.94 million square meters in Jan09 to 4.66 square meters in Feb09. But like the unit shipments, there was still a 12.1% YoY decline. Due to the strong growth momentum mentioned earlier, monitor panels grew by a whopping 35.2% MoM to 1.44 square meters. Meanwhile, the NB and TV segments also posted double-digit increases, where the two grew respectively by 18.1% and 11.3% MoM to 512 K square meters and 2.71 million square meters. As the Netbook and small-sized TV were the key shipment sizes, their area panel consumption was limited. Thus, the NB and TV area shipment growth were not as notable as the unit shipments.

TFT-LCD Panel Area Shipment in Feb-09 (K square meter)

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