Global shipments of flat-panel displays fell for the second month in a row compared to the same period in 2012. This has led to fears that the market will not achieve any growth this year.
The combined shipments worldwide in July of liquid-crystal display (LCD) and plasma display panel (PDP) TVs amounted to 14.88 million units, down 6.3 percent from July 2012, according to the “Monthly Worldwide FPD TV Shipment Data Report†from the TV Systems Intelligence Service at IHS Inc.
LCD displays, which account for the bulk of the global flat-panel TV space, posted a 5.7 percent year-on-year decline based on shipments of 14.1 million units, as presented in the attached figure. PDP TVs, making up the remainder of the flat-panel TV market with shipments of 781,000, contracted by an even steeper margin—down 15.8 percent from the same time last year.
The retreat in July was a repeat of what had happened in June, and the downward trend is unlikely to turn around soon given the ongoing reduction in demand. Companies remain conservative in their outlook for the next few months until the end of the year when shipments are expected to bounce back, in line with the traditional sales bump anticipated during the holiday season.
Overall, however, monthly shipments will continue to be smaller than their comparable months in 2012 until October, a development with ominous undertones.