TrendForce Reports April’s TV Panel Shipments Saw 7.2% Monthly Drop as Restocking Demand for Chinese Labor Day Sales Tapers Off

According to the latest large-size panel report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce, TV panel shipments arrived at 20.82 million units in April, translating to a 7.2% drop from March and 5% drop from a year ago. Branded TV set vendors began to replenish their inventories for the Chinese Labor Day sales earlier in March. This resulted in weaker panel shipments for April, when vendors had just about completed this phase of inventory activities. 

WitsView Research Manager Iris Hu said branded TV set vendors have been stocking up on TV panels sized 43 inches and under for some time, and prices of these size segments have also been rising in May due to tight market supply. Vendors are also more willing to increase their purchases of panels sized 48 to 50 inches as these products experienced a significant price decline that led to the rebalance of their supply and demand. 

In other size categories, prices of 55-inch TV panels are anticipated to rise as TV brands have concentrated on this size bracket for promotion and new product releases, while the South Korean and Taiwanese panel makers will be focusing on the 65-inch segment this year. Based on these trends, WitsView expects TV panels shipments in May to post a small monthly increase of 2~3%. 

Innolux rapidly expanded 4K panel shipments by over 70% while recovering from the February earthquake

LG Display (LGD) was still the leading TV panel supplier in April, though the panel maker’s shipments were down 8% from a month ago to 4.40 million units. LGD plans to shift some of its IT panel products from one of its Gen-6 fabs to a Gen-8.5 fab before the end of June, and this in turn is having an impact on the company’s TV panel capacity. The panel maker also decided to cut the production of the 32-inch TV panel. In sum, the activities related to production planning, together with the end of restocking activities for Chinese Labor Day sales, have resulted in weaker TV panel shipments for LGD in April.

Known for pursuing high shipment volumes, BOE Technology (BOE) posted a disappointing result in April after its excellent performance in March. The Chinese panel maker shipped 3.63 million units of TV panels, representing a 20.4% monthly decline. Shipments of 23.6-inch panels in particular fell by more than 80% because the inventory for this size had already been depleted in March. BOE lost additional momentum in April when TV brands began to cease filling their inventories for the Chinese Labor Day sales.

Taiwanese panel maker Innolux shipped 3.47 million units of TV panels in April, up just 6.8% from the prior month. While Innolux gradually put its fabs back to operation following the February earthquake, aftershocks had affected the fabs’ yield rates, causing shipments to fall below market expectations. To improve the revenue situation, Innolux has stepped up shipments of large-size 4K panels for high-end TVs. Consequently, the panel maker grew its 4K product shipments by over 70% monthly, almost reaching last year’s peak of 700,000 units. Innolux’s shipments will again surge ahead in May when its fabs are likely to be fully recovered from the earthquake.

Samsung Display (SDC) saw a monthly drop of 6.5% in its TV panel shipments, amounting to just 3.26 million units. SDC continues to have issues with its new manufacturing process and is now considering shutting down a Gen-7 fab after posting a poor first-quarter financial report. This Gen-7 fab mainly produces 40-inch panels that make up nearly 40% of the panel maker’s total TV product shipments. Hu said SDC has been losing money making this product for some time due to its uncompetitive cost structure, so the company may be contemplating abandoning this size category to prevent further losses.

China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) has cut the production of its 32-inch product and shifted its production capacity to making larger TV panels, including the 43-, 49- and 55-inch. CSOT’s shipments in April fell 6% monthly to 2.45 million units.

TV panel shipments from AU Optronics (AUO) reached its peak for the 24-month period in March as TV vendors’ reloaded their inventories and prepared for the launch of new models. While AUO continued to enjoy strong demand for its popular panel sizes in April (e.g. the 43-, 50- and 55-inch), it lacked capacity to fulfill all of its customers’ orders. AUO’s shipments for the month totaled 2.33 million units, representing a monthly decline of 6.9%.