Taiwan makers' shipments of small- to medium-size panels dropped 19.1% on quarter in the first quarter of 2015 to 288 million units and are expected to grow 12.7% on quarter in the second quarter, according to Digitimes Research.
First-quarter shipments took a hit due to the time period traditionally being a slow time for makers coupled with reserve adjustments from China-based customers.
Shipments for handset panels and tablet panels dropped 23.6% and 28.3% respectively in the first quarter while shipments for a-Si panels used in cameras increased 15.2%.
The makers' shipments will increase 12.7% on quarter to 325 million moving into the second quarter, down 7.5% on year. The drop will come from decreased shipments for feature phones in addition to increased competition from Japan Display's (JDI) LTPS TFT LCD production advancements. China-based Tianma and BOE will also play bigger roles in the entry-level to mid-range smartphone markets.
Shipments for panels used in DVD and digital frame applications will grow 16.4% and 14.5% respectively in the second quarter while those for vehicle applications will rise 14.7% as the four major Taiwan panel makers increase their customer layouts. Handset panels are expected to account for 75.1% of the makers total shipments during the quarter, with total shipments increasing 13.7% on quarter.
In terms of makers, Innolux expects to see a 22.9% increase in small- to medium-size panel shipments in the second quarter due to increased orders from international vendors while HannStar Display will only see a 5.7% increase due to focusing on orders from white-box vendors, added Digitimes Research.