Taiwan's shipments of small- to medium-size LCD panels are expected to edge up 3.7% sequentially but decline 15% on year in the second quarter of 2021, after reaching 188 million units in the previous quarter, Digitimes Research estimates.
The shipment volumes for the first quarter were down 2.4% sequentially but up 12.1% on year.
While the sequential growth forecast for the second quarter is to be fueled by seasonal demand, the growing adoption of OLED panels for smartphone and tablet applications will contribute to the sharp annual reductions for LCD in the quarter, Digitimes Research notes.
For the second quarter, Taiwan's LCD shipments for handset applications are forecast to grow 5.4% sequentially thanks to a ramp-up in the shipments by HannStar Display for feature phone panels.
Taiwan's shipments of small- and mid-size LCD panels for tablets are expected to see a significant sequential decline in the second quarter due to shortages of related IC parts and reduced demand from some major clients, including Amazon.
For all of 2021, Taiwan's shipments of small- and mid-size LCD panels are likely to fall 6.8% on year to 790 million units, Digitimes Research forecasts. The growing adoption of OLED for smartphones will continue to erode the market of LCD, and the increasing sizes of tablet panels, coupled with a shortage of driver ICs, will affect shipments for mid-size applications.