A new set of figures from Digitimes Research shows that Taiwanese panel makers of 9 inch and above TFT LCD panels reached 62.21 million units in the first quarter of 2014. That’s down 3.2% on quarter, according to the research above.
As far as the notebook panel segment is concerned, AU Optronics shifted production on one of its 5G lines to notebook panel production. Korean makers have shifted their production away from notebook panels to tablet panels, so this caused a slight notebook panel shipment growth of 0.6% for Taiwanese makers in the meantime. Taiwan’s makers tablet panel shipments grew 2.2% in the first quarter, while the TV and monitor panels dropped 2.9% and 9.3% respectively.
I was expecting to see 9 inch and above panels drop, since bigger tablets are no longer a trend and the 7 inch and 8 inch ones dominate the market. It would take a very well selling Galaxy Tab, Nexus 10 or iPad Air to change that perception…
