In 2015, Samsung and LG, the two major Korean brands, may surpass 40% global market share, squeezing the market shares of Chinese and Japanese TV brands, according to a recent announcement from WitsView, a research division of TrendForce. Even though Korean brands are leading ahead of the pack in the global LCD TV market, a newly released “2014 China TV Brand Power Research Report” from AVANTI, a Chinese consumer research division of TrendForce, indicates that within the China market, Changhong, TCL and Hisense still possess an absolute geographical advantage in terms of brand image and visibility.
Few panel applications have been free from the consumer electronic markets cooler season effects, with notebook panels early price drop reflecting the seasonal transition. Another major IT application monitor panels prices also slid, due to off-peak season effects.
Propelled by economic recovery of major markets such as North America and China, and the promotions for large-sized products, the 2014 all-year LCD TV shipment is projected to reach 215 million units, with an annual growth rate of 5.4%, which is more optimistic than the original forecasts.
2014 is undoubtedly a fruitful year for the panel industry. In addition to the overall increase in panel price, even though the industry has already entered the mature stage, the four major applications (TV, monitor, notebook and tablet) still reached a total panel shipment of 826.8 million units, showing a stellar performance of 2.2% annual growth rate. This is considered as a rare performance of increases in both price and shipments.
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%.
