LCD panel prices fall faster than expected
Monitors will sell for $282 by the end of year
By Tamlin Magee: Freitag 02 Juli 2004, 16:17
LCD TV AND MONITOR prices are set to fall much faster than previously forecasted, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. That confirms earlier stories written here on the INQUIRER.
In June, average prices for LCD monitors fell for the first time in a year, and will apparently drop every month until the end of the year – when they're expected to be selling for US$282, presumably for the 17-inch versions. An earlier forecast predicted that they'd be selling for US$298. Average prices for LCD monitors peaked in May this year at US$302.
Big-name monitor manufacturer Benq, as reported in this article, began dropping prices on LCD monitors late in the month, to get rid of excess and unwanted stock. And due to lack of demand from consumers, it appears.
We reported here that 17-inch LCD monitor prices could see a price drop as high as 15 per cent during the second half of this year. All signs are pointing to the same thing, cheaper LCD equipment.
LCD TV panel prices rose by a US$3 average to US$557 each last month, however, according to DisplaySearch, quoted on Bloomberg. They're still cheaper when compared with an earlier US$463 forecast.
The flat panel firms are hoping we'll all dash out and buy LCD TVs to watch the Olympic Games in Athens, it appears. Meanwhile, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that the price of LCD TVs in Japan are between ¥400,000–¥450,000 yen, approximately 20% less than a year ago. LCD panels are being sold to large-lot buyers at around ¥110,000 to ¥130,000, down ¥10,000 from April.
An unnamed official from a South Korean LCD panel manufacturer told the Nihon Keizai Shimbun that panel makers are seeing "increased burden from price cuts" as an investment, to expand on their future market shares. µ
( hallo ich hätte gerne einen gleichmäßig ausgeleuchteten Ben )
