May 1st Labor Day in China and Olympics pushes China LCD TV brand’s panel demand to increase

TAIWAN: According to WitsView, a research division of TrendForce, and Chinese research institute Σintell, the total shipments of LCD TV set in Feb-12 reached 2.577 million units with a 40 percent MoM regression and a surging YoY of 102 percent, mainly due to the relatively lower base period compared to last year. The figures above are based on China Top 6 TV Brand Shipment and Panel Demand reports.

Due to the upcoming May 1st Labor Day holidays in China, LCD TV finished good shipments in Mar-12 are projected to increased by 17 percent MoM, inspiring an estimated QoQ growth around 7~9 percent in 2Q12. The panel procurement volume in Feb-12 amounted to 2.805 million units with a MoM regression of 11 percent. In March, an increased MoM growth of 7 percent is expected.

Burrell Liu, WitsView research director indicates that the lackluster panel market is expected to rebound, helped by global brands’ well-controlled inventory in 2H11 and the upcoming China May 1st Labor Day holidays; meanwhile, Samsung, LG and Toshiba have started making preparations for product launches in European market in response to the forthcoming London Olympics in July-12. As a result, the global LCD TV shipments in 2Q12 are projected to grow by 8 percent QoQ.

China top 6 TV brands’ overseas shipments accounted for 22.3 percent of their total shipments in 2011. This year, with their key strategies continues to focus on expanding international sales and targeting overseas channels, aiming at 39 percent YoY growth in overall international sales, accounting for 25 percent of the total shipments; which is a projected threat to other international brands.

CMI’s panel shipments to China till Feb-12 took 32 percent of the market share as the first ranking, followed by AUO with the market share of 22 percent. Ranked by the top 6 TV brands’ targets of annual total panel procurement volume, CMI is forecasted to secure its dominance by taking 24 percent of the total procurement volume, followed by LGD (21 percent), AUO (19 percent), and Samsung Display (18.7 percent). The remaining panels makers, such as BOE and CSOT, are projected to jointly take up 17.3 percent of the total volume.

According to WitsView, the 39” and 50” panels released by CMI accounted for 6.5 percent of top 6 TV brands’ total procurement volume in Feb-12. CMI’s new-sized model shipments in 2012 are estimated to take 27 percent of its full-year shipments, resulting from its tight capacity due to more-than-expected client demand. WitsView research projects the new-sized LCD TV panel shipments to reach 23 million units, accounting for 10~11 percent of the total panel shipments in this year.Source: WitsView, Taiwan