TrendForce reports that the U.S. began implementing reciprocal tariffs on April 9th, based largely on trade deficits. Consequently, Asia—particularly Southeast Asia, a key hub for the consumer electronics supply chain—has been significantly impacted. The display industry now faces potential tariffs on optical films and AMOLED organic light-emitting materials, which may drive up material costs. Meanwhile, end-user demand could weaken, and prices for finished products may rise.
On April 2nd, the U.S. announced a new round of reciprocal tariffs, followed by a provision allowing exemption for goods with more than 20% “U.S. value”. TrendForce’s latest observations reveal that the lack of macroeconomic improvement since 2024, coupled with the inflationary and recessionary risks posed by these new tariffs, has prompted a downward revision of the 2025 shipment outlook for several end-device markets—including AI servers, servers, smartphones, and notebooks.
LG Display’s Guangzhou Gen 8.5 LCD line was officially transferred to CSOT today (April 1st) and renamed “T11”. CSOT will now own two Gen 6, four Gen 8.5, one Gen 8.6, and two Gen 10.5 LCD production lines with this acquisition. TrendForce notes that the completion of this—along with ramping up capacity at CSOT’s T9 Gen 8.6 line—will increase the company’s share of global large-generation (Gen 5 and above) LCD production area by 3.6 percentage points to 22.9%. As T11 mainly produces TV and public information display (PID) panels, the combined TV market share of the top three panel makers—BOE, CSOT, and HKC—is expected to rise further to 66%.
TrendForce’s latest findings reveal that government incentives in China are boosting overall solar demand and creating a sense of supply tightness in the PV module market. This surge is expected to trigger a moderate demand peak in March and April 2025, likely pushing prices across the solar value chain higher in the second quarter.
TrendForce reports that NAND Flash suppliers began reducing production in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the effects are now starting to show. In anticipation of potential U.S. tariff increases, consumer electronics brands have accelerated production, further driving up demand. Concurrently, inventory restocking is underway across the PC, smartphone, and data center sectors. As a result, NAND Flash prices are expected to stabilize in the second quarter of 2025, with prices for wafers and client SSDs projected to rise.
