Adjustment Strategies for Product Mixes and Capacities Effectively Triggered TV Panel Price to Rise in July, Says TrendForce

According to the latest statistics of WitsView, a division of TrendForce, after TV panel price significantly dropped in 2Q18, panel makers aggressively adjusted product mixes and conducted annual maintenance. Then, because of decreased supply and peak season, 32" panel price is predicted to rise in July. Some large-sized panel price might stay flat or even slightly move up from June.

Because Chinese panel makers' capacities continued expanding, in 2018, large-sized panel glass input by area is projected to grow 8.7% YoY. In 2018, there are three newly-added fabs, including BOE's Gen 10.5 fab in Hefei, the Gen 8.6 fab of CEC-CHOT, and CEC-Panda Chengdu's Gen 8.6+ fab. They all reached mass production phases in 1H18, during off seasons. Besides, these new capacities are totally used to make TV products. Thus, TV panel price rapidly fell. Particularly, 65" panel price fall scale was remarkable in March. 32" panel price dropped more than US$10 within two months (April and May).

Anita Wang, a senior research manager of WitsView, pointed out, various panel makers took different actions, to tackle the sudden TV panel price fall. For Innolux, AUO and LG Display (LGD), they all modified product mixes of Gen 6 fabs in 1Q18, dropped the glass input of 65" TV panels, and increased small-sized TV panel's input or LCD monitor panel's input. As for BOE and CSOT, they reduced glass input for the 32", and increased input of larger-sized TV products. Regarding CSOT and Samsung Display (SDC), each of them conducted annual maintenance in March and in April, respectively.

For 32" panel price, it stopped falling in July. In particular, some panel makers proactively asked for more than US$3 rise in July for four reasons below. First, 32" panel supply decreased. Next, panel makers have cleared its inventory in April and May. Third, short-term rush orders surfaced. Fourth, a peak season is coming, so some panel makers began to slow down the price downtrend.

Each panel segment's price trend tightly links to one another's. Thus, after 32" panel price started to increase, 40"~43" panel price might stay flat or even slightly rise. In view of 55" panel price, it is expected to remain constant in August after the peak season's stocking-up demand develops and mid-and-small-sized panel price rebounds.

The stocking-up demand surfaced, so in June, some IT panel price stayed unchanged

Speaking of LCD monitor price, small-sized TN panel price didn't change much in June because of the supply shortage for driver IC and passive components, and the strike of AUO's fab in Songjiang, Shanghai.

When it comes to LCD monitor IPS panel price, on the one hand, brands' borderless panel demand has been currently well. Particularly, 23.8" demand considerably shifted from general border panel to the borderless. On the other hand, panel makers' current borderless panel capacity has been limited, so their supply intensified. Combination of the two reasons above led to 23.8" borderless panel price stop dropping in June.

With regard to the NB panel price, mostly because of the lasting shortage issue of driver IC, the majority of NB brands procured panels ahead of time in June, in order to prepare for the coming peak season. Accordingly, most of NB panel prices have been flat in June.