Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 15, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The US credit crisis is now spilling over into the LCD industry as well. The problems with mortgage loans could have a negative influence on the purchasing behavior of US consumers in terms of LCD televisions and screens in the upcoming Christmas business, the market researchers at iSuppli fear. In the large-area TV segment in particular, this is expected to lead to price discounts on end devices despite the expected price increase for panels, since retailers will fuel the desire to buy with special offers.
“While LCD panel suppliers expect prices to continue rising until the end of the year due to supply bottlenecks, iSuppli believes that filling inventories will trigger a decline in demand – especially in the monitor segment,” says iSuppli analyst Sweta Dash. This could influence the pricing of large-area panels in the fourth quarter. “The issue could become even more of a problem if consumers stop buying because of the credit crisis,” the expert warns in the Asian IT portal DigiTimes.
LCD prices have recovered in recent months. From April to September, manufacturers raised prices for notebook and monitor panels by 15 to 25 percent. For small-format LCD televisions up to 32 inches, prices climbed by at least five to seven percent. In the large format, however, the experts expect an ongoing decline in prices. In the coming months, the price of 52-inch LCD TV panels is expected to fall below the magic threshold of 1,000 dollars.
In the 32-inch segment, by contrast, prices are stable. Profitability has risen again, not least because of cost reductions in manufacturing. Due to the unabated strong demand, some manufacturers have now shifted production to their high-performance 7.5 and 8G factories. Despite impending problems from an emerging component shortage, the situation in the notebook segment is currently also developing positively. The market observers at iSuppli also attribute this to the long-term positive effects of Windows Vista and Intel’s Santa Rosa processor.
