Supply tightness continues. LCD TV panel prices continue to increase significantly in February and March

Since June 2020, LCD TV panel prices have continued to rise. In 2021, due to the tight supply of upstream raw materials and the continued strong market demand, TV panel prices will continue to increase significantly in February and March.

Zhang Hong, research director of Qunzhi Consulting TV, said that the dual positive effects of overseas 'home economy' and fiscal stimulus continue to continue. The performance of terminal retail in Europe and the United States continues to be strong, and at the same time, superimposed manufacturers to cover inventory demand. In the first half of the year, TV manufacturers have a strong willingness to stock up on panels. On the supply side, the supply gap of upstream materials, especially various ICs, is gradually enlarged, and it is difficult to solve in the short term. The effective supply of some panel factories has been greatly impacted.

On the whole, the global LCD TV panel market is in short supply in the first quarter, and it is expected that the supply will remain tight in the second quarter. The continued tight supply has driven the price strategy of head panel manufacturers to become aggressive. Sigmaintell predicts that the prices of mainstream LCD TV sizes will maintain a large increase from February to March, especially for large sizes.

In terms of specific products, the average price of 32 inches has risen by 3-4 US dollars per piece; the average price of 39.5 inches to 43 inches has risen by 5 US dollars per piece; the average price of 50 inches is expected to rise by 8 US dollars in February. Maintain an increase of more than $5, which has expanded compared to January.

As for 55-inch products, due to the aggressive price strategy of the head panel makers, the increase is expected to expand to 9 US dollars in February and maintain a larger increase of more than 5 US dollars in March. In terms of large size, the supply is in short supply and manufacturers are willing to compensate. It is expected that the average price will maintain a large increase of 7-8 US dollars from February to March.

In addition to Qunzhi Consulting, the latest statistics released by Witsview also showed that TV panels maintained an upward trend in February. Among them, 32-inch TV panels were quoted at US$70, an increase of US$4 from January. 6.1%, the price of 43-, 55-, and 65-inch TV panels rose 5-10 US dollars, an increase of about 5%.

According to the author’s understanding, this round of TV panel price increases has a longer period. In addition to strong market demand, it also includes Korean manufacturers shrinking production capacity, mainland manufacturers’ high-generation line climbing progress is lower than expected, and Display driver chips, glass substrates, polarizers and other upstream raw materials are out of stock. In particular, the three major glass substrate manufacturers of Corning, NEG, and AGC have encountered continuous failures, power outages, and explosions, which have led to LGD, BOE, The supply of glass substrates such as TCL China Star, Innolux, AU Optronics, and Huike have all been affected to varying degrees, further exacerbating the imbalance between supply and demand of LCD panels.

Regarding future price trends, Li Yaqin, general manager of Qunzhi Consulting, said: 'Prices are relatively stable in the first half of this year, and the supply-demand relationship is tightly balanced. The second half of the year will depend on the overall development of the epidemic and demand. Impact.” This also means that if the global epidemic is brought under control, panel supply and demand will become looser in the second half of the year, and prices may have room for correction. If the impact of the epidemic continues, the tightness of stability and tightness will continue. (Jiwei)