Display driver IC shortage to continue 

Display driver IC demand will increase 7.4% in 2020 from a year prior, according to market research firm TrendForce.

However, supply of the chips will increase only 2.5% over the same time period, which will continue the shortage over them, the firm said.

This is because most 8-inch foundry capacities has been allotted to chips relatively more profitable than display driver ICs, TrendForce noted.

Foundry companies such as Nextchip and SMIC were expanding their production capacity this year, which will increase the production volume of display driver ICs for large panels, the research firm said. But this won’t be enough to meet total demand, it added.

Because of this, display driver IC prices will increase again in the third quarter, the research firm said. Prices of the chips increased between 20% to 30% in the second half of 2020 compared to the same time period a year prior.

Timing controller (T-Con), which are also used in display panels, is also in short supply, TrendForce also noted.

Procuring display driver IC and T-Con will be the most important issue for the display panel industry in 2022, it added.