WitsView: Double-digit shipment growth projected for Monitor SIs and Brand Vendors in 2Q09

Taipei, April 8, 2009---According to WitsView’s latest forecast, the aggregated monitor shipments of the Top 10 SIs will reach 34 million units in 2Q09, up by 10% QoQ. Following the sluggish shipments in 2H08, they finally started to pick up in 1Q09, thanks to a flurry of inventory restocking and influx of rush orders. With the inventory replenishments expected to continue until May09, it will help underpin the quarterly shipments in 2Q09. Separately, aside from the persisting tighter supply of 16:9 panels, supply of components such as scaler ICs has stabilized. Thus, the parts shortage should ease by the end of 2Q09. In the wake of the still uncertain market outlook, whether or not downstream brand vendors continue with their inventory pull-in will largely depend on the actual end market demand.

In terms of the Top 10 monitor brand vendors’ shipment performance, despite the 1Q09 rush order effect, due to the tight panel and component supply, the amount of orders received were not too substantial. This led to weaker-than-expected shipment figures during 1Q09. For 2Q09, amid the stabilization of the general supply chain, brand vendors will conduct a more fundamental inventory restocking. Meanwhile, as the previous monitor panel price drops are gradually reflected in the retail market, further sales promotions are anticipated. Thus, beginning from 2Q09, as brand vendors try to attain their 1H09 sales target, this will help boost the quarterly shipment growth. In general, WitsView projects the aggregated shipments of the Top 10 monitor brand vendors to reach 31 million units in 2Q09, up 13.1% QoQ.

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