NEWS GENERAL

Panel sales in December will be flat, as forecasted by the Digitimes. According to the Taiwan industry portal, major suppliers, such as the local panel maker Chimei Innolux (CMI), are expecting zero growth or a single-digit decline, at worst, compared to November, while a decrease of 15 per cent was assumed in an earlier forecast.


According to industry experts, panel shipments have finally gained momentum again towards the year end. Whereas sales in October have been on a traditionally low level, sales in November were the better. The stocking of American retailers in advance of Black Friday has brought strong impulses.

In the strong-selling period starting at November 25th, the preference of TV buyers has shifted from 32-inch towards 40/42 inch models. Given Black-Friday bangers such as the 42-inch Sharp LCD TV, squandered by Best Buy for only 199 USD, this is nothing to wonder at.


Godsend for price-sensitive U.S. consumers: Black Friday deals from big retailers. (Picture: Best Buy)

Panel orders prior to the Chinese New Year in February, which is considered the first sales peak of the new year, have been another major reason for the November boom. As inventories are still not empty, experts assume that TV vendors will to hold still in December. They expect the price level of panels in the first quarter of 2012, at the earliest.