Global FPD Industry to Recovery in 2010: DisplaySearch

Taipei, Oct. 28, 2009 (CENS)--Global flat panel display (FPD) revenues for 2009 is forecast to reach US$87.6 billion, down 15% year-on-year (YoY) from 2008, according to the major display-market researcher DisplaySearch.

The company attributed the revenue decline mainly to the dropping prices of large-sized TFT-LCD panels compared to 2008, despite the recovering TFT-LCD market in the second quarter. With the gloomy forecast for 2009, the market is still expected to recover in 2010 with a 5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and revenues of US$93.3 billion.

David Hsieh, vice president of DisplaySearch, said that 2009 has been a drastic change for the whole FPD industry, which faced many critical challenges in the end of 2008 due to the global recession and the resulting drop in demand. However, he added, as the market demand began to recover in early 2009 and the global economy expected to continue to improve, we believe that the worst is over and the FPD market will experience growth after 2009."

Amorphous silicon (a-si) TFT-LCDs continue to be the largest segment in all FPD technologies, DisplaySearch said. However, active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) shows the strongest CAGR, 179% from 2008 to 2012, as suppliers solve technical and financial problems.

There are currently eight drivers of FPD growth in the next 10 years, DisplaySearch pointed out, including new applications and markets, new entrants and processes, new concepts and specifications, as well as new business and practices. Many of these are inspired by the downturn in the FPD industry in late 2008 and early 2009, which stimulated the FPD industry to find different strategies, markets and solutions.