Friday, August 1, 2008

LCD TV and monitor makers trimming shipment targets, says CPT

Rebecca Kuo, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Thursday 31 July 2008]

Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) vice president Brian Lee has revealed the company is seeing branded LCD monitor and second-tier TV vendors trimming their shipments targets. CPT has already cut its own shipments target, and Lee said only a short-term recovery will be seen in the second half of 2008.

Citing internal estimates, Lee indicated that, on average, branded LCD monitor vendors have revised down their annual shipments targets by 13%. This translates to an annual shipment of 143 million units. Second-tier TV vendors are also likely to trim their targets as price competition from Sony and Samsung Electronics is expected to erode their market share, Lee predicted, but would not give concrete figures for the extent of the cuts.

A safe inventory level for LCD monitors should be 1.5 months, but most system integrators (SI) and distributors are currently carrying inventory levels 1-2 weeks higher, Lee said. Inventory levels for LCD TVs are also about 3-4 weeks higher than the safe level, he added. Leading TV vendors have already frozen inventory procurement, he noted.

Among all end applications, Lee said only notebook panel shipments have maintained previous targets. Panel inventory levels at notebook vendors are at about 1-2 months and as vendors pre-stocked during June and July, no inventory buildup will be seen in August, he said.

CPT is expected to see its average selling price (ASP) for IT and TV panels drop 15% and 5%, respectively, on quarter, a similar price drop as foretold by rival AU Optronics (AUO), industry watchers estimated.

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