LCD Monitor Shipments to See 1.5% YoY Growth in 2018 After Seven Years of Decline, Says TrendForce

The shipments of LCD monitor are projected to reach 126 million units in 2018, a YoY growth of 1.5%, after seven years of decline, according to WitsView, a division of TrendForce. The main drivers of shipment growth include the falling panel prices and rising demand from North America. The strong sales in niche segments like gaming and borderless monitor also offer growth momentum.

North American market records strong demand, with Dell and HP taking the lead in monitor shipments

The LCD monitor panel prices have been falling since April 2017, says Anita Wang, senior research manager of WitsView. With the panels approaching a mid to low price level, the branded monitor vendors have enhanced their profitability across their product ranges, and will continue to increase their shipment volumes. Particularly, benefited from the expansion in gaming segment, acer is expected to increase its monitor shipment by 15.2% YoY in 2018, the highest growth rate among the brands. In the global ranking of monitor shipments, acer will remain the 7th.

The strong economic performance in North America has boosted both consumer and commercial demand. Hence, Dell, HP, and ViewSonic are expected to record remarkable shipments, with the annual growth rates of 7.5%, 10.6%, and 9.2% respectively. Dell would also achieve a new record market share of 19.6%. HP would surpass AOC/Philips to take the second place in the shipment ranking, with a market share of 13.8%.

In addition, LGE would outperform Samsung, who dropped to the sixth in the ranking. Samsung witnesses a decrease in shipment because it has allocated more capacity to products with higher profits and thus shipped fewer monitors smaller than 21.5 inch.

“Borderless monitors also offer growth momentum to the shipments this year,” says Wang. In addition to a modern look, borderless monitors suit large-size products and provide more comfortable viewing. Brands like Dell, HP, and Lenovo have taken initiatives to adopt borderless design in IPS products. For 23.8-inch panels, the price gap between bordered ones and borderless ones has been largely narrowed this year, driving the penetration rate of borderless LCD monitors in the global monitor market to 30~35% in 2018 and to about 50% in the next two years (2019～2020).