Supply tug-of-war breaks out in the small/medium display market

Small/medium display suppliers are enjoying strong sales to several major applications, including mobile phones, digital photo frames and Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs). This phenomenon is driving market growth, but also is raising concerns regarding the industry's capability to fulfill demand.

The global market for small/medium displays, i.e. displays smaller than 10-inches diagonally, is expected to grow to 4.5 billion units by 2011, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.5 percent from 3.6 billion units in 2006, according to iSuppli Corp.

New emerging applications such as digital photo frames and Portable Navigation Devices PNDs are driving much of the growth of the small/medium display market, with shipments of active-matrix LCD products for these uses rising to 2 billion by 2011, expanding at a CAGR of 18.2 percent from 900 million units in 2006.

The small/medium display market is moving toward larger-sized and higher-resolution screens. As these displays demand a greater share of global LCD area production, panel suppliers will move to fourth- and fifth-generation fabs for making such screens, up from second- and third-generation before.

However, with these fabs also in strong demand for producing notebook-PC screens, will the small/medium display suppliers be able to meet market demand? Which application - PNDs or notebook PCs - will win out in the battle for supply allocation at fourth-generation fabs? Among small/medium display suppliers, which companies stand to benefit the most from this dual-pronged demand?

Learn the answers by joining iSuppli on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Pacific Time for an exclusive Webinar entitled: Is There Enough Capacity to Meet Growing Demand?

Hosted by Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst, small/medium displays, the Webinar will discuss critical issues, including:
-- Is there potential for a supply shortage due to rising demand?
-- Will the Taiwanese small/medium display suppliers overtake their counterparts in Japan and Korea?
-- In a market characterized by pressure on prices and margins, what strategies should suppliers adopt to achieve long-term success?

Attendees can call in to the Webinar to hear Jakhanwal's comments and can use an Internet browser to view the presentation slides. Jakhanwal will take questions from Webinar attendees.

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