Large-sized TFT display market begins recovery in Q2: Omdia 

Large-area thin-film transistor (TFT) display market will show marginal growth in 2020 as it begins recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter, market research firm Omdia said.

Global large-area TFT display unit shipments in 2020 are expected to total 771.6 million units, up less than 1 percent from 770.5 million in 2019, the firm said. This includes both LCD and OLED TFT displays sized 9-inches and larger.

The flat growth is largely a reflection of the varying conditions of the first half and second half of the year, Omdia said.

After a dismal first quarter, TFT display market will begin recovering in the second quarter eventually leading to the marginal growth.

First quarter large-sized TFT display shipment in 2020 fell 4% from the same period a year ago. In contrast, second quarter shipment will rise 5% year over year.

This growth is being propelled by demand for IT devices, Omdia said. Notebook PC displays are expected to increase shipments by 18% year over year. Monitor display shipments will increase by 9% in the second quarter.

LCD-TV, meanwhile, will decline by 13% in the second quarter year over year.

All products except for TVs will show annual growth, Omdia said. Notebook PC panels shipments in 2020 will reach 196.7 million units, while monitor panels will reach 154.9 million units and tablet panels 116.1 million units by the end of the year. It is a growth of 3.5%, 7.8% and 16.4%, respectively, from 2019.

Meanwhile, TV panel shipment will reach 261.7 million, a decline of 9.9% from last year. The market will be dominated by Chinese panel makers based both on area and shipment, the research firm said.

China in 2019 took a 40.9 percent of large area TFT display area shipments, along with a 39.9 percent share in unit shipments. South Korea’s LG Display took largest share for the area shipments in 2019 with 19.8 percent share, followed by BOE with 19.4 percent.

LG Display is expected halt LCD TV panel operations in South Korea within the year. Samsung Display plans to stop LCD TV panel production entirely by the end of the year.