Taipei, August 5, 2008 (CENS)--With international large-sized brands increasing their orders for LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs with Taiwan contract suppliers, Taiwan is expected to see its annual shipment of the products break 20 million units or US$8.396 billion this year, up 40% and 46%, respectively, from last year, according to industry sources.

In the second quarter of this year, Taiwan posted LCD TV shipment of 4.5 million units, up 8.3% from the first quarter and 41.3% from a year earlier, with 32-inch and above low-end models accounting for 88% of the total, while the shipment value stood at US$1.863 billion, slightly up 2.6% from a quarter earlier. Noteworthy was that the second-quarter unit price of LCD TVs shipped by Taiwanese makers dropped by 5% to only US$408.

The government-funded MIC (Market Intelligence Center) noted that effects of sub-prime-mortgage crisis in the U.S. have severely undermined LCD TV sales of some brands, such as Vizio, Funai and Polaroid, which have been focused promotion in the North American market, in the first half of this year.

However, to boost their market shares, large-sized brands, including LG, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba and Philips, have increasingly placed their orders with Taiwanese contract suppliers, such as Qisda Corporation, Wistron Corporation and Compal Electronics Inc., which are expected to challenge a total of 2 million LCD TVs in annual shipment in the year.

In the second half of the year, leading brands` moves to drive LCD TV sales by cutting selling prices would very likely boost Taiwan`s shipment of low-priced models. Separately, Taiwan`s third-quarter shipment is estimated at 5.56 million units and worth US$2.383 billion, up 27.9% from the second quarter, and the fourth-quarter shipment at 6.286 million units and worth US$2.959 billion, up 24.2%. But, third-quarter unit prices are expected to keep declining to only US$393.

(by Steve Chuang)