PALO ALTO – The LCD manufacturing equipment market topped $1.5 billion in 2006 and will reach $2.3 billion by 2013, Frost & Sullivan’s World LCD Manufacturing Equipment Markets reveals.

Improved HD and larger LCD televisions increase demand and drives the growth of the LCD manufacturing equipment market. Additionally, decreased panel prices have made LCD TVs more affordable, which will lead to phenomenal LCD TV growth, says Frost.

Despite the increase in panel sizes, the sales of older generation equipment will not come to a standstill as desktop monitors, cellphones and other electronics utilize smaller display sizes. Countries such as China will continue to see investment in older generation equipment as they manufacture large volumes of small-sized displays, says the research firm.

The market’s fierce competition leads to extreme price pressures, further compounded by the fall in glass substrates’ prices. Therefore, for equipment vendors to maintain profitability, they must manage cost structures and find new ways to control costs, concludes the firm.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Global revenue for large-sized (10" or greater) LCD panels will rise to $66 billion this year, up 22.2% from 2006, says iSuppi Corp. This represents a 6% increase compared to iSuppli’s previous forecast.
 
iSuppli raised its forecast for large LCD shipments, citing rising demand, tightening supply and increasing prices.
 
Worldwide shipments are forecast to reach 353.8 million units, up 25.2% year-over-year. iSuppli previously predicted shipments of 350.1 million units.
 
Demand is rising from the major markets for such panels: televisions, desktop monitors and notebook PCs, says the research firm. Meanwhile, inventories remain under control. This combination of rising demand and constrained supply is causing overall panel prices to increase, says iSuppli.
 
This strength should continue during the coming years, says the company. The large LCD panel market is expected to expand to 597.6 million units by 2011, up 2% from iSuppli’s previous forecast. Revenue will reach $102 billion in 2011, up 6% from the prior prediction. This will mark the first year the global large-sized LCD panel market will exceed $100 billion, says the firm.
 
iSuppli has upgraded its forecast of global large-sized LCD-TV panel shipments in 2007 to 77.5 million units. The firm predicts LCD-TV panel shipments will rise to 180.45 million units in 2011, up 5% from the previous forecast.
 
The price gap has closed between 32-inch and 40/42-inch panels, which will contribute to higher consumer adoption rates of 40-inch and larger LCD TVs, says iSuppli.
 
A strong recovery in the desktop PC monitor market in the second and third quarters is expected to drive sales to 163.2 million units this year, up 14% year-over-year.
 
The notebook PC LCD panel market is expected to reach 99.6 million units in 2007 and 161.5 million units in 2011, driven by lower prices, the rise of wireless capabilities in portable computers and the shift to larger display sizes, says iSuppli.