LCD TV panel shipments to drop 8.9%: TrendForce

Global shipments of LCD TV panels this quarter are expected to decline 8.9 percent year-on-year as large-scale lockdowns in China stalled shipments and disrupted component supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic, market researcher TrendForce Corp said yesterday.

Shipments of TV panels this quarter are to fall to 63.78 million units, down 12.7 percent quarterly, the Taipei-based researcher said in a report, adding that lower supplies would increase panel prices.

With the pandemic progressively under greater control in China, shipments next quarter are expected to rebound 7.1 percent quarter-on-quarter, thanks to demand pushed back from this quarter, TrendForce said.

However, oversupply is likely to return, as higher jobless rates due to fallout from the pandemic weaken the purchasing power of consumers, it said.

Last month, LCD panel shipments fell 3.5 percent month-on-month to 20.07 million units, but shipments this month are expected to rebound 14 percent after transport and people’s lives return to normal, TrendForce said.

China Star Optoelectronics Technology Cobecame the world’s largest TV panel supplier, as its shipments increased 0.2 percent monthly to 3.73 million units, replacing BOE Technology Group Co, which saw shipments fall 14.1 percent to 3.46 million units, TrendForce tallies showed.

BOE Technology’s shipments marked the company’s lowest monthly total since June 2017, TrendForce said, adding that the company’s factories, which are scattered across China, faced a more severe shortage of labor and components than their rivals due to city lockdowns.

China’s HKC Optoelectronics Technology Coclimbed to third worldwide, as shipments jumped 64.7 percent to 2.61 million units due to deferred orders, while Taiwan’s Innolux Corp—which also grappled with a shortage of key components and labor, causing its ranking to drop by a notch to No. 4—saw its TV panel shipments fall 15.2 percent month-on-month to 2.51 million, TrendForce tallies showed.

Samsung Electronics Co stayed in fifth, as shipments increased 1.4 percent to 2.06 million units amid an increase in factory utilization in response to improving panel prices.