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Taiwan to Command 31.1% of Global LCD TV Supply in 2006(Taiwan Economic News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Taipei, Jan. 24, 2006 (CENS)--The global share of Taiwan-made liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs-including those produced on both an own-brand and on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis-is expected to further grow to 31% this year, making the island a global production base for the products, according to the Market Intelligence Center (MIC) of the Institute for Information Industry In conjunction with the expanding orders from major Japanese brands such as Sony, Sharp, and Matsushita (Panasonic) for LCD TVs with local contract suppliers, MIC said, the demand for LCD TV panels is also expected to bring lucrative business opportunities to local large-sized thin film transistor (TFT)-LCD panel manufacturers With the newly added new-generation (including 5.5th-generation, or 5.5G, and 6G) panel manufacturing capacities of local TFT-LCD panel makers, many big international LCD TV brands have started procuring large volumes of TV panels from Taiwanese makers, mainly in mainstream sizes such as 32- and 37-inch panels, from suppliers on the island, including Sharp, Sony, Matsushita, Philips, Samsung, and LG MIC analyst Kao Tian-ching pointed that the annual global demand for LCD TVs is expected to reach about 36.48 million units this year, up 84.9% from 19.72 million units of 2005. Mainstream product sizes are expected to be 32 inches and above According to Kao, Taiwan is expected to account for about a 31.1% share of the global LCD TV supply (including both OEM and own-brand TVs this year), up from 28.4% in 2005. Taiwanese companies are winning increasing orders for large-size LCD TVs from Japanese brands, he added, as evidenced by some local contract suppliers winning orders for 32-inch TV models. In the past, Japanese contract orders were placed mainly for models 20 inches and less AmTRAN Technology, Co. Ltd., which just won large Japanese contract orders, pointed out that about 40% of its orders from Japanese companies are for the mainstream 32-inch TV models, compared with a similar rate for 15- and 20-inch products in 2005. AmTRAM also plans to push new 37-, 42-, and 46-/47-inch products this year. AmTRAM is a long-term, major supplier of 15- and 20-inch LCD TVs to Sony of Japan Lee Kuo-ding, another MIC analyst, said that Sony quit producing cathode-ray tube (CRT) TVs at its plant in the U.K. last year and has turned its production focus to LCD TV models. Under high pressure from price competition in the international market as well as expanding shipment volume, he analyzed, Sony is expected to release more contract orders to Taiwan suppliers in the second half this year Sharp, the world's largest LCD TV brand, Lee said, is expected to concentrate on production of higher-margin 37-inch and -larger TV models, and will outsource production of panels 32-inches and smaller. Taiwanese panel supplier Quanta Display Inc. has won 32-inch TV panel orders from its technical partner Sharp. Quanta Display's parent firm-Quanta Computer Inc., a leading notebook PC contract producer-has won Sharp's original design manufacturing (ODM) orders for LCD TVs, and the company's products are currently undergoing Sharp's final certification process In general, Kao pointed out, the prices of 32-inch LCD TVs are leveling out, and Taiwan's contract LCD TV makers are expected to win more orders this year. According to the analyst, major LCD TV brands are expected to focus on self-production of 40-inch and -over models to assure profitability, and will contract manufacture 32-inch models and 20-inch models to increase their market shares. |