Asahi Glass Co, Japan's largest glassmaker, will build a plant in central Japan to meet rising demand for material for large liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
The Tokyo-based company will invest ?14 billion (US$127 million) and increase its annual glass production capacity 22 percent to 22 million square meter, the company said in a press release.
The new plant will make the glass sheets used in flat panel television and computer displays beginning in October 2005.
Asahi Glass projects demand for LCD panels will grow 25 percent over the next few years.
"The demand for large glass sheets will continue to exceed supply as most manufacturers start production next year," said Yoshihiko Saito, an Asahi Glass spokesman.
Asahi Glass raised its net income forecast this month 7 percent to ?73 billion for the business year ending Dec. 31.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co and Japan's Sony Corp, the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker, teamed up last month to build a seventh-generation display plant that is to start production next year.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Hitachi Ltd, and Toshiba Corp, three of Japan's biggest electronics makers, are also in talks on joint manufacture of liquid crystal displays used in televisions to compete with their South Korean and Taiwanese rivals.
Global supply of liquid crystal displays for computers and televisions exceeded demand in the first half, El Segundo, California-based Isuppli Corp said in a quarterly report this month. Oversupply will widen to 9.3 percent in the third quarter as eight new plants come on line this year, Isuppli said.
Global sales of liquid crystal displays will increase 50 percent this year, less than forecast, because rising inventories are cutting the prices of flat televisions and computer monitors, the Austin, Texas-based market research company DisplaySearch said.
Global sales of LCDs measuring more than 10 inches diagonally will rise to US$36 billion, down from a prior prediction of US$41.3 billion this year, DisplaySearch said at its conference in Los Angeles. The industry had sales last year of US$24 billion.
Shares of LCD makers, such as the world's largest Samsung, have fallen in the past four months as investors worry that growth won't be as fast as expected. DisplaySearch said a 17-inch monitor that sold for US$459 to consumers in the second quarter could fall as low as US$299 to US$349 by this holiday season in the US.
"We did see dramatic price reductions in July and August," said Ross Young, chief executive of DisplaySearch. "The outlook is fairly grim for rest of year."
Prices for LCDs had increased because of shortages. That led manufacturers to increase inventories quickly, Young said. The buildup will cause manufacturers to cut back, and LCD shipments this year will increase to 136 million units, less than a prior forecast of 140.5 million units, DisplaySearch said.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
RSS