TrendForce: China to Account for 24% of Global Gen5-and-above Capacity in 2015

Based on the survey on the global large-sized TFT-LCD capacity by WitsView, the display division of the global intelligence provider TrendForce, as there is no large global capacity expansion in 2013 and the demand for IT products is weak, panel makers shift some of the Gen5 and Gen6 capacities to high-end products, including wide viewing angle and LTPS, and to the productions of mid-and small- sized panels and touch sensors. That leads to a 2.1% drop in the large-sized TFT-LCD available capacity, which reaches 194.9Mn m², compared to 2012. Three new Gen8.5 fabs respectively built by SDC, BOE, and LGD will get operational in China in 2014, and the available capacity is expected to reach 202.2 Mn m², rising 3.8% from 2013.

“As we observe the fluctuations between fabs of all generations, it clearly shows that the Gen5 holds a declining percentage for large-sized panel production. 2013 sees an 11.6% drop from 2012, and what is rising is the mid-and small-sized panels which are more demanded and generate higher profits,” WitsView research manager Boyce Fan said. “The trend will be even more obvious as larger-generation fabs get operational.” Based on WitsView’s data, in view of the Gen8.5 capacity, 2014 will show 12.1% growth from 2013, contributed by SDC’s Gen8.5 in Suzhou, BOE’s Gen8.5 in Hefei, and LGD’s Gen8.5 in Guangzhou.

According to WitsView’s deep analysis of the Gen5-and-above capacity in all worldwide regions, in 2015 eight Gen8.5 fabs will start mass-production in China, and the nation then will hold a rising proportion of Gen5-and-above capacity, from 13.8% in 2013 to 24.5%, near Taiwan’s 28.1%. The capacity continues to rise, in contrast to the softening demand growth momentum, and downstream clients’first choices to purchase panels will be panel prices and makers with system assembly ability, enforcing Chinese makers’advantages in this domain. In addition, with China’s lifted import tariff on panels, China will secure a perfect spot in the global panel supply chain and inevitably outpace Taiwan while catch up with Korea, bringing substantial impacts to Taiwan’s entire supply chain of the TFT-LCD industry.

Figure: 2013-2015 Global Large-sized TFT-LCD Available Capacity


Source:WitsView