The demand for LCD panels is unpredictable

The large-sized LCD market has experienced severe fluctuations. The freight volume reached a new high this year in March and April, but suddenly dropped sharply in May. In the past, the market cycle was usually off-peak in the first quarter and then gradually recovered and rose. However, this year has deviated from the norm, and industry players lament that it is difficult to predict the trend this year.

In March, the freight volume of LCD panels larger than 9 inches was 12.5 million pieces, setting a new record for the monthly freight volume. In April, it slightly decreased to 12.3 million pieces. However, the LCD industry still performed outstandingly, with a year-on-year growth rate of 11%. At that time, industry players were optimistic that the market was about to recover. Unexpectedly, the situation changed suddenly in May. In China, the world's largest TV market, TV sales during the May Day Labor Festival decreased by 13% year-on-year. In the past, May Day was the peak period for TV demand in China, with manufacturers launching a lot of promotions and introducing new products. However, this year's sales have been less than satisfactory. Industry insiders in South Korea disclosed that the volume of panel shipments dropped significantly last month and industry players have begun to adjust their production capacity.

Industry insiders point out that the fluctuations over the past few months have been extremely severe, affecting the purchase volume of components. We can no longer rely on tablet computers. Only ultra-high resolution (UHD) TVS and smart phone panels can dominate the growth of the LCD market in the future. Industry insiders predict that the price of LCD panels will slightly decline this month. Panel manufacturers will adjust their transportation volume and reduce the purchase of components, which will affect the upstream and downstream industries.

The growth of the Chinese market has slowed down recently. The main reason is that in the first half of last year, local sales growth was particularly outstanding as the government subsidy program was about to end (the comparison base period was too high). In addition, China is gradually shifting towards the large-screen market. In the first quarter of this year, the shipment volume of 50-inch large-screens increased by 20%, with a growth rate more than twice that of last year.

However, the supply and demand of traditional monochrome LCD liquid crystal displays remain stable and stable, without major fluctuations.