The fourth quarter is traditionally a slow season for the small-to-medium-size panel industry, but in the fourth quarter of 2014, Taiwan's related shipments are expected to grow 2.6% sequentially to reach 338 million units, according to Digitimes Research.
China's demand for smartphones was not as strong as expected in the third quarter and vendors cut panel orders for the quarter to focus on digesting their smartphone inventories. As a result, Taiwan's small-to-medium-size panel shipments did not enjoy as strong a growth as expected.
Heading into the fourth quarter, some orders were delayed in the third to help boost Taiwan's panel volume and demand for phablet devices is expected to increase, which will push up Taiwan makers' tablet panel shipments 4.4%. Additionally, demand for low-priced notebook panels will also increase as vendors aim to release lower-priced notebooks in emerging markets.
Vehicle and PND panel shipments will see on-quarter growth of 6.6% and 4.4% respectively as they further enter the supply chains of major automakers in North America and Europe.
In terms of shipment growth by maker, Innolux can expect to see a 4.4% on-quarter increase in the fourth quarter largely due to rebounding orders from China's handset vendors.