According our latest NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT Panel Shipment Report, total large-area TFT panel shipments reached a record high of 37.7 million square meters, in the second quarter (Q2) of 2014, driven by the shift to larger sizes for all applications. Year-over-year unit shipments of 9.1-inch-and-larger TFT panels rose 3%, to 181 million units, in Q2. TFT unit growth was led by LCD-TV panel shipments, which reached a record high of 64 million units. The large area TFT panels covered in the statistics are including a-Si TFT LCD, Oxide TFT LCD and AMOLED.

Panel makers are now taking the opportunity to boost their capacity utilization, clean out their panel inventories, and complete shifts in the product mix,. Although panel shipments and prices both rose in the second quarter, supply and demand will gradually come into balance.

Display panel manufacturer market share ranking shifted in Q2 2014. LG Display maintained its lead, with 25 percent of all units shipped; but for the first time Innolux surpassed Samsung Display, while AUO ranked fourth, followed by BOE. When it comes to shipment area, however, LG Display ranked first in Q2 (25 percent), followed by Samsung Display (22 percent), Innolux (19 percent), AUO (15 percent), and Sharp (6 percent).

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Table 1: Large Area Shipment Unit Share, Q2 2014

Source: NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Large Area TFT Panel Shipment Report

According to panel makers’ future business plans, nearly all TFT applications are expected to experience a quarter-over-quarter decline in Q3 2014, except 9-inch-and-larger tablet-PC panels and public-display panels. Due to increased demand for larger tablet PCs from consumers and aggressive marketing efforts of tablet PC brands, shipments of large-area AMOLED panels for tablet PCs will grow substantially in Q3, passing 1 million units. The overall TFT LCD market, however, will experience a 3% quarter-over-quarter decrease, as manufacturers plan to ship just 174.6 million TFT LCD panels in Q3. With many TV brands beginning to see their inventories pile up, panel manufacturers are being careful not to overload the pipeline.

Fabrication (fab) loading rates are also expected to be lower in Q3 than in Q2; however, as pipeline shortages disappear, the most critical job panel makers have is to prevent panel prices from falling. In the third quarter, demand will decline gradually and come into balance with supply, and fab loadings will be adjusted downward. Even so, the risk of the panel inventory adjustments in the fourth quarter cannot be ignored.”

The NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT Panel Shipment Report covers the entire range of large-area panels shipped worldwide and regionally, with 100 percent coverage of panel makers. For more information about the report, please contact Charles Camaroto at 888-436-7673 or 516-625-2452, e-mail [email protected] or contact your regional NPD DisplaySearch office in China, Japan, Korea or Taiwan.

NPD DisplaySearch, part of The NPD Group, provides global market research and consulting specializing in the display supply chain, including trend information, forecasts and analyses developed by a global team of experienced analysts with extensive industry knowledge. NPD DisplaySearch supply chain expertise complements sell-through information from The NPD Group, thereby providing a true end-to-end view of the display supply chain from materials and components to shipments of electronic devices with displays to sales of major consumer and commercial channels. For more information, visit us at www.displaysearch.com. Read our blog at www.displaysearchblog.com and follow us on Twitter at @DisplaySearch.