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2ndQuarter LCD Prices Continue Downward Trend 
June 17, 2019
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Panel makers were anticipating that Q219, would see an end to the downward trend of ASPs and while it seems a bit better than 1Q pricing levels, LCD panel prices are still falling.  When compared to the very steep panel price declines seen in Q119, 2Q doesn’t look quite as bad, but if the early June estimates are close, it will not be the savior quarter that some were hoping for.  Notebooks look to be the best category, with pricing remaining flat, while monitor pricing is expected to decline between 0.2% and 0.3%.  Large area panels, which include panels over 9”, generate ~82% of industry sales during a typical month, and while that includes monitors, some tablets and notebooks, TV panels make up between 35% and 45% of total sales, making TV pricing an important issue.  TV panel pricing should be down between 1.1% and 2.4% for the month, depending on panel size, which is a downward acceleration from the previous two months in 2Q.
 
There is no singular cause for the rapid TV panel price decline, but there are some possibilities, including higher than normal inventory levels in China, new Chinese capacity coming on line, and the tariffs on Chinese (and possibly Mexican) imports.  Things were difficult enough for TV panel buyers when it was just China facing import tariffs, but a number of those TV brands that assembled their sets in Mexico, such as Samsung Electronicswere hoping to gain some US share against those brands that were assembled in China.  From SCMR, LLC