Thursday, November 20 2003
Flat panel displays for televisions and computers are in such high demand that prices for the thin, low-power screens used to make them are rising -- a trend that could continue into next year, a market researcher said on Wednesday.
Flat panel displays have recently begun to displace bulkier cathode ray tube boxes on desks and in living rooms, largely because prices for liquid crystal display, or LCD, screens had fallen to a point that they became affordable.
Now, the market is taking off. Computer companies, to cell phone makers and traditional consumer electronics companies have crowded into the market for the sleek, lucrative displays, especially ahead of the holidays.
Thin, big screen televisions have been especially popular, and even PC makers Gateway Inc. (nyse: GTW - news - people) and Dell Inc. (nasdaq: GTW - news - people) are selling them.
"A lot of new manufacturers are entering the LCD-TV market right now, including PC makers, and they are ordering huge numbers of panels from LCD suppliers," said iSuppli/Stanford Resources researcher Sweta Dash.
But only a short list of companies make the actual LCD screens that are the central component for the flat panel products, leading to shortages and higher prices, according to the iSuppli/Stanford study.
The companies that build the screens, which use new low power technologies that allow for the slim profile, include Japan's Sharp Corp. <6753.T> and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a member of South Korea's Samsung Group
.
Some manufacturers are limiting supply to computer makers, meaning higher prices for notebook computer screens and desktop computer monitors, in order to fill demand for more lucrative flat screen TV market.
Average selling prices for 14-, 15- and 17-inch LCD panels used for notebook computers rose 2 to 3 percent last month and prices could rise another 2 to 3 percent this month, Dash said.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/
