Press release, November 1; Emily Chuang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 1 November 2007]
While mobile handsets continue to be the dominant application in the small- to medium- size LCD market, new uses such as portable navigation devices (PNDs), digital photo frames and MP3/portable media players (PMPs) are generating rising sales in this area, according to research firm iSuppli.
The rising number of new applications will help drive global small- to medium-size display shipments to 4.5 billion units by 2011, up from 3.8 billion in 2007, noted the research firm.
"The diversification of sales is being aided by expansions in production capacity and declines in pricing for all kinds of small/medium LCDs," said Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst for mobile displays at iSuppli. "This is further boosting demand and attracting many other applications to use small/medium LCDs, such as white-good appliances and retail signage."
Good navigating
Given that the main function of a PND is to display GPS information, the capability to show detailed, color images of maps is essential. Because of this, PND manufacturers have turned to TFT LCD technology.
This new demand has caused iSuppli to upgrade its PND display market forecast to reach 60.5 million units by 2011, managing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.3% from 10.8 million in 2006. This is up from iSuppli's previous forecast of 54 million units in 2011.
Despite the falling prices for small- to medium-size TFT LCDs, revenues for displays shipped to PNDs will reach US$776 million by 2011, rising at a CAGR of 19.1%, up from US$324 million in 2006. In 2007 alone, PND display revenue will nearly double to US$635 million, up from US$324 million in 2006.
Sharp and Samsung now are the leading suppliers in the PND display market, selling to the PND leaders Garmin and TomTom, respectively.
The MP3/PMP opportunity
But PNDs aren't the only consumer-electronics application helping to drive a boom in the small- to medium-size display market. MP3/PMPs now are one of the fastest-growing segments for such displays in terms of unit shipments.
iSuppli forecasts MP3/PMP unit shipments will reach 205 million units by the end of 2011, up from 163 million units in 2007. This equates to display revenues of US$1.6 billion by 2011, slightly down from revenues of US$1.7 billion in 2007. This decrease in revenues is due to the ever-declining prices for small- to medium-size LCDs as capacities expand and manufacturing processes become more efficient.
The growth in display units is being driven by factors, including the overall growth of the MP3/PMP market that is driven by Apple and its iPod line as well as the company's nearest competitors that are trying to keep pace and MP3 music players morphing into the PMP space. Active matrix LCD suppliers are targeting this market in order to stave off the incursion from active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) suppliers.
Because PMPs are one of the fastest-growing segments of the consumer-electronics industry and with more products becoming available, a greater number of LCDs are needed to meet demand.
Many other applications like digital photo frames and portable DVD players are consuming more displays every year. Since these applications demand larger sized displays (around 7-inches), increased demand can have a greater impact on capacity allocation and supply/demand balance of not only these displays but also notebook PC displays that also are being manufactured in fourth-generation (4G) fabs.
Source: iSuppli, compiled by Digitimes, November 2007
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