TrendForce：Samsung, LG Procurements Drive Rising TV Panel Prices in November

The consumer electronics market has been go-go in November because of the many sales promotions this month, notably China’s Double 11 (November 11) shopping holiday, which earned NT 270 billion dollars in revenue. With Black Friday (November 28) in Europe and America coming up at the end of the month, the market is hoping for another big boost. While the holiday season will fuel price growth in the short run and LG and Samsung will continue to place large panel orders, prices are likely to hit a ceiling relatively soon, according to WitsView, a division of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce. 

Demand for Samsung TV panels produced by the company’s Samsung Visual Display division is resilient, said Eric Chiou, senior research director of WitsView. But because Samsung, the leading TV panel brand, expended vast resources from its Samsung Display division on panels for Samsung Visual Display, it indirectly decreased panel supply to competitors, he added. As a result, the 40W and 48W, the main sizes used for Samsung displays, jumped by US$3. The shortage of 48W panels prompted a number of vendors to stock up on the 50W, which also increased by US$2- US$3. By contrast, this month, the 32W only increased by US$1, reversing several months of steady increases. 

As the off-peak season approaches, it is not surprising to see signs of slowing panel demand, Chiou said, adding that manufacturers are hesitant to hold a large amount of inventory as a result. Rivals Samsung and LG, meanwhile, are focusing on expanding market share. “Because these two South Korean brands’ panel procurements are enormous, their demand is the main driver of price movements,” Chiou said. 

Regarding monitor panels, sizes that were recently in short supply including the 18.5W, 19.5W and 21.5W are now more readily available. As a result, smaller OEMs are less likely to delay product delivery. Since the outlook for the overall TV panel market is optimistic and monitor panels fall under the same product category, monitor prices are the same as last month. But customers are starting to request lower prices on the larger-sized panels, including the 23.8W and 27W. “As we enter the off-peak season, customers’ bargaining power will increase,” Chiou said. 

Suppliers, meanwhile, have been the focus in the notebook panel segment of late. A strong push by BOE has ended industry domination by Taiwanese and Korean panel suppliers. Additionally, tablet sales are flagging, which has caused manufacturers to devote more effort to notebook panel production. Weakening tablet demand caused notebook panel prices to fall in October. That was exacerbated in November by oversupply issues. Since the 14W and 15.6W trade in large volumes, buyers requested volume discounts and prices fell US$0.5 to US$0.7. But the 13.3W and 17.3W, which are niche products that clients tend to customize, only decreased US$0.3 to US$0.5.