TrendForce: LCD Monitor Shipments to Be Determined by Market Demand in 2015, Will Decrease by 1.3%

Panels were in uncharacteristically short supply in the LCD monitor market in 2014. As a result, panel manufacturers were unable to fully meet market demand. TrendForce forecasts that total LCD monitor shipments in 2014 including all-in-one (AIO) PCs will be 150 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 5.1%. 

But in 2015, as supply increases, market demand will determine LCD monitor shipments, said Anita Wang, a research manager at WitsView, a division of TrendForce. “The overall rate of decline in 2015 should be lower compared to this year,” she said. Total LCD monitor shipments, including AIO PCs, are expected to reach 148 million units in 2015, an annual decrease of 1.3% over 2014. Of those shipments, LCD monitors will comprise 131 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 1.9% while AIO PCs will account for 17 million, an annual increase of 3.2%. 

In 2015, LCD monitor shipments will decline at a lower rate for three main reasons, Wang said. Firstly, in 2014, LG and the Chinese brand, BOE, each added Generation 8.5 production line. In 2015, BOE and CEC-Panda, another Chinese brand, will continue to add those production lines, which will increase LCD monitor supply. With supply sufficient in 2015, shipments will become demand driven once again. Secondly, the increase in panel supply will give brand vendors room to lower panel costs and prepare their promotional strategies for the peak season in the second half of the year. Thirdly, because Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP this year, businesses and government offices in North America are increasingly switching over to new PCs. This will continue through the first half of 2015. 

Rising popularity of wide-viewing angle products will also be important to the development of the LCD monitor market in 2015. In 2014, wide-viewing angle LCD monitor penetration rate is expected to reach 29%. WitsView forecasts panel manufacturers will continue adding supply of wide-viewing angle LCD monitor panels in 2015. Given the high consumer acceptance of wide-viewing angle LCD monitors, the penetration rate could reach 40-45% in 2015, Wang said. 

In 2015, a number of other LCD monitors will be launched. Those include smaller sizes like the curved 23.6”W model and larger sizes like the curved 35”W model. “While these products are still priced at a premium and available in low quantities, they can enrich the LCD monitor product lines and also help slow the speed of shipment decline,” Wang said.