WitsView Research Manager Hu Jialu pointed out that due to the saturation of demand and the enlargement of the size of the monitor panel, the shipment volume continued to drop. In 2017, the shipment volume was 137.59 million pieces and the annual decline rate was 1.6%. In contrast, the notebook computer panel, In 2017, benefiting from the North American marked orders of US-based brands and the Chinese mainland brands sprinting annual shipping targets in the second half of the year, demand increased quarter by quarter, boosting annual shipments to 177.35 million units, an increase of 6.9% year-on-year. Get rid of even two years of recession.
Observing the supply and demand situation in the first quarter of 2018, WitsView pointed out that the brand was affected by the off-season effect, and the shipments of the whole machine in the first quarter declined by 10%-11%. However, due to the short-term panel inventory level, coupled with the current mainstream panel size The price dropped by 12%-15% compared with the same period of last year, which helped the brands to purchase at low prices and expand the layout of new products. Therefore, even in the traditional off-season, it is estimated that shipments of monitor panels in the first quarter will rise 0.4% against the trend.
Looking forward to the year 2018, WitsView pointed out that due to the increase in the production of monitor panels by the Gen 6 line and the BOE Fuqing 8.5 generation line, the monitor panel market is expected to end the seven-year decline in shipments, with a shipment volume of 1 Billion 40.36 million pieces, an increase of 2% year-on-year. On the whole machine side, since this year's brand strategy will continue to shift to large-size products, there will be no gold or high-gage specifications related to gaming and gaming, and overall shipments will gradually decrease. Therefore, This year's monitor panel's oversupply ratio is expected to come to 4.9%, reversing the three-year equilibrium that was maintained within 1%.
Regarding the laptop panel, WitsView pointed out that the shipment performance of notebook computer panels in 2017 was better than expected. Incentive panel makers were chasing success this year, plus the price fluctuations of notebook panels in the past six months were small, and profit performance was better than TV and monitor panels. Panel makers are willing to invest more resources and production capacity, and are expected to boost shipments of notebook panels to 188.11 million in 2018, an increase of 4.9% year-on-year.
Observing the status of the demand side, the notebook and electric brands purchased the panel in the first quarter, laid out new specifications such as high resolution, wide viewing angles, and narrow bezels. Therefore, even if the first quarter was affected by the off-season effect, the shipment decline of the entire aircraft reached 15%-16. %, but panel shipments fell only 1%-2%. Next, as Apple plans to launch new versions of its MacBook Air and upgraded MacBook Pro in the second half of the year, it will inevitably exclude the sales of other brands and indirectly affect this year's sales. The whole shipment. WitsView analysis, if the panel factory did not adjust the supply on time, it may increase the risk of panel oversupply.