Driven by Size Migration and High-end Products, Large TFT Display Market Continued to Grow in 2017

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Despite slower demand from end market and panel price erosion, the large thin-film transistor (TFT) display market expanded in 2017 in all three aspects -- unit shipments, area shipments and revenue. According to a new report from business information provider IHS Markit, unit shipments of larger than 9-inch TFT displays increased by 4% in 2017 compared to a year ago, while area shipments rose 6% and revenues up 13% during the same period.

“Revenue growth was higher than that of area shipments, which was again bigger than that of unit shipments. This indicates that the display market is moving to larger screens in all applications, and the penetration of high specification products with a higher price tag, such as high resolution, wide viewing angle and slim design panels, has increased,” said Robin Wu, principal analyst at IHS Markit. Large TFT display revenues reached $63.7 billion in 2017, according to the latest Large Area Display Market Tracker by IHS Markit.

By area shipments, TV displays, which grew 6% year over year, accounted for 78% of total large TFT display market, leading the overall market growth. Despite ongoing decline in TV panel prices, which started in the middle of 2017, revenue continued to grow by a double digit as panel makers have focused on high-end products, such as 4K TVs and 55-inch-and-larger TVs. Shipments of 4K TV panels amounted to 92 million units in 2017, up 46% year over year, making up 35% of the entire TV display market. OLED TV panels also continued its growth, marking unit shipments of 1.8 million with a 102% growth from 2016.

BOE led the large TFT display market with a 21% share in 2017 in terms of unit shipments, followed by LG Display with 20% and Innolux with 16%. It was the first time that a Chinese panel maker took the top position in an annual base result. However, in the TV panel market by unit shipments, LG Display retained its lead with a 19% share, followed by BOE with 17%. In terms of area shipments, South Korean panel makers remained strong, with LG Display accounting for 23% and Samsung Display for 17%.

The Large Area Display Market Tracker by IHS Markit provides information about the entire range of large display panels shipped worldwide and regionally, including monthly and quarterly revenues and shipments by display area, application, size and aspect ratio for each supplier.

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