3Q11 : Touch panel market likely to grow. HP entering aggressively.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

The market for small- to medium-size panels continues to thrive while capacity utilization rates for large-size panel makers have been lower than expected. Riding on the wave of the tablet PC market, orders for small- to medium-size touch panels will continue to increase in the third quarter.

The market for tablet PCs have been growing rapidly as Apple's iPad series continues to increase in shipments, and other firms such as HP, Asustek, Acer and Amazon have all been entering the market aggressively. The competition has caused orders of small- to medium-size panels to increase.

According to industry sources, total shipments of LCD TVs in 2011 will only grow around 7-8%, around 200 million units. Large-size panel firms have been expanding capacity for the past few years, hence the low demand is likely to contribute to oversupply, panels firms are likely to face increasing losses. 

Industry sources added total shipments of LCD TVs in 2012 need to grow by 10% for panel firms to generate profits.

Many firms that produce touch related products such as sensors and modules have been shifting production lines to focus on touch panel customers. As the market for tablet PCs continue to grow, the touch panel makers can continue to enjoy outstanding performance.