As large display unit shipments decline, shipment area rises with aggressive size migration for TVs, IHS says

LG Display leads large TFT-LCD display shipment area

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (May 19, 2016) – Despite unit-shipment declines, large thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) shipment area is expected to grow 5 percent year over year, to reach 168 million square meters in 2016. Due to lower demand for both TV and IT panels, unit-shipment growth is expected to decline 5 percent to 656 million units in 2016, according to IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight. LG Display will lead large TFT LCD area shipment growth in 2016 with 25 percent market share, followed by Samsung Display with 20 percent share. IHS defines large displays are those that are nine inches and larger.

TV panel unit shipments are expected to fall nearly 7 percent in 2016, while shipment area is expected to grow 7 percent, as panel makers respond to slowing demand and migrate production to larger displays, according to the latest IHS Large Area Display Market Tracker . Unit shipments of PC displays are also expected to fall 7 percent.

“Falling prices are causing panel makers to focus on the most profitable products, including larger displays and those employing newer display technologies,” said Yoonsung Chung, director of large area display research for IHS Technology. “From the panel maker’s perspective, area shipment is more important than unit shipments, so panel makers are accelerating the migration to larger TV panel sizes and higher resolutions.”

Display manufacturers are targeting a 24 percent year-over-year growth rate for 48-inch-and-larger panel sizes, which are expected to reach 93 million units in 2016. 4K LCD TV panels are expected to grow 73 percent in 2016, reaching 66 million units.

Chinese panel makers buck the tide

Because of ongoing production-capacity expansion, China is the only country expected to experience positive unit-shipment growth in 2016 in the large display segment. Chinese panel makers will enjoy 37 percent shipment-area growth and 12 percent unit-shipment growth in 2016, compared to the previous year. Area-shipment growth in South Korea will rise 2 percent, year over year.

“China’s power in the large TFT-LCD market is growing,” Chung said. “This trend could accelerate the shift to AMOLED by tier-one panel makers quicker than expected.”

Large AMOLED displays on the rise

TV panels will drive growth in large active-matrix light-emitting diode (AMOLED) area shipments, growing 124 percent year over year to reach one million square meters in 2016. In fact, TV is expected to comprise 92 percent of total large AMOLED panel shipments by area in 2016. However, unit-shipment growth is expected to decline slightly, due to slower demand from the tablet PC category. Large AMOLED unit shipments are forecast to fall 5 percent, year over year, to reach 3.7 million in 2016.

The IHS Large Area Display Market Tracker explores the entire range of large display panels shipped worldwide and regionally, including monthly and quarterly revenues and shipments by display area, application, size and aspect ratio for each supplier.