Global shipments of larger flat panels are expected to stage a rebound this month, mainly due to an increase in demand from China on the back of buyers’ restocking, a research report said on Saturday.
In the report, WitsView, a flat-screen research division of TrendForce Corp (集邦科技), said Chinese buyers have been boosting their inventories in a bid to meet a buying spree expected over the upcoming May 1 Labor Day holiday.
Jeffery Chen (陳建甫) an analyst with WitsView, said restocking of ultra high-definition panels is on the increase in China, while the launch of new models by international brands is also boosting demand for TV panels.
Chen said that worldwide TV panel shipments this month are expected to grow by up to 22 percent from last month.
WitsView said that shipments of monitors for desktop PCs this month are likely to grow by between 16 percent and 17 percent from last month, as some manufacturers have started to boost production.
Taiwan-based AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), in particular, has begun mass production of 19.5-inch monitors, paving the way for an increase in overall monitor shipments, WitsView said.
As for panels for notebooks and tablets, shipments this month are expected to grow 21 percent and 12 percent respectively from last month on rising demand, the research institute said.
The upbeat assessments are contrary to a decline recorded last month, in which the Lunar New Year holiday cut short the number of working days, WitsView said.
Last month, shipments of larger panels fell 1.8 percent from a month earlier to 58.6 million units, the research report said.
WitsView said the month-on-month decline in shipments was also the result of slow season effects, which prompted buyers to reduce their inventories.
Last month, TV panel shipments fell 10.9 percent from January to 16.60 million units, but stayed little changed from a year earlier, while shipments of PC monitors were 12.02 million units, down 4.9 percent from a month earlier, and down 22 percent from a year earlier, WitsView said.
However, shipments of notebook panels for last month rose 7.6 percent from a month earlier to 13.58 million units, largely due to a low comparison base in January, when demand for the screens fell to a recent low.
Shipments of tablet screens for last month rose 4.1 percent from January to 16.39 million units after demand for 9.7-inch tablets staged a rebound, WitsView 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
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
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
RSS