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May Panel Pricing – TVs/Monitors Continue Downward Trend
​May 28, 2018

May panel pricing changes are modest with the exception of TVs, which continued their downward trend in May, with 32” panels dropping by the largest m/m amount (-10.7%) since March 2012. The overall TV panel group declined 5.9% for the month, with each category declining between 4.1% and 10.7%. Last month 32” panels hit a low of $50 despite expectations fueled by the upcoming World Cup. Inventory levels at Chinese set manufacturers remained high in May, although the newly created shopping holidays, particularly ‘Single’s Day’, on November 11,could stimulate demand. Panel producers are maintaining high utilization rates, which exaggerates the supply glut. With the beginning of the Gen 10.5 era, an increase in 65” TV panels together with a lowering of cost could create pressure in the 55” TV panel category, the source of high margin sales previously. Despite the relative slow ramp of BOE’s Gen 10.5 fab, even the shipping of samples to prospective brands are floating new pricing for such panels as expected yield progress is factored into conversations. Some panel producers have been using the higher margins on ultra-large panels to offset the losses created in the more commoditized panel sizes, where they are selling at cash cost or below. If ultra- large margins deteriorate, panel producers will have little to fall back on, and utilization rates for mid-level panels will have to come down to keep losses from expanding.

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Table 1: May/April Display Price Changes