Affected by the tight supply of key components such as driving IC, the latest quotations for the three major TFT-LCD panel applications continued to increase by $1.50 to $8.00 in February, and prices are expected to rise all the way from March to June. The overall panel price increase is estimated to be about 15%, 20% in the first quarter and more than 10% in the second quarter.

Can the price rise of TFT-LCD panel continue in the second half of the year? The main observation focuses on when the supply of key components will be alleviated. The recent tight supply of panel components include driving IC, glass substrate and so on, among which the gap of driving IC is the largest. If the new production capacity of driving IC is planned to go out smoothly in the second half of this year, there may be an opportunity to improve the tight supply of driving IC.

With the shortage of key parts and rising quotations for major application panels, TFT-LCD panel manufacturers turned into profits in the third quarter of last year.

According to a survey by market research institutions, full-size NB notebook panels rose by an average of $1.80 in February, while mainstream-sized products for monitor application panels rose by an average of $2 to $3, with 21.5-inch and 23.8-inch panels rising by about $3 and 27-inch panels by about $2. The prices of mainstream size products for TV panels have also gone up across the board, with 32-inch panels rising by $3, 43-inch panels by $5, and 50-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch panels by $5 to $8.

As the supply of key components such as the driver IC is still in short supply, it is expected that the price rise of the TFT-LCD panel in March may be similar to that in February. The overall panel price increase in the first quarter is estimated to be about 15% Mur20%, and may also be more than 10% in the second quarter.