Shipment of curved monitors for 1H21 was constrained by the shortage of such components as panels and scaler ICs, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. As countries begin to lift pandemic-related restrictions following increased vaccinations in Europe and the US in 2H21, consumer demand generated by the stay-at-home economy has undergone a noticeable slowdown as well. Taking these factors into account, TrendForce, therefore, expects annual curved monitor shipment for 2021 to reach about 15.6 million units, a 10% YoY increase.

TrendForce finds that curved monitor shipment for 2Q21 reached about 3.41 million units, a 6.1% QoQ decrease. Samsung once again took a leadership position with a quarterly shipment of 1.09 million units and a 32% market share. Coming in second place was AOC/Philips, which posted a 12% market share with a shipment of 410,000 units. Finally, MSI and Dell each took third place and fourth place with 10% and 8% in market share, respectively.

It should be pointed out that, SDC, the largest supplier of curved monitor panels last year, reduced their production of LCD monitor panels considerably in 1H21. As a result, brands which had heavily relied on SDC’s panel supply, including Samsung Electronics, AOC/Philips, HP, and HKC, experienced QoQ declines of 21%, 36%, 64%, and 32%, respectively, in their shipments of curved monitors for 2Q21.

Conversely, LGE, Acer, and Dell saw QoQ increases of 110%, 47%, and 38%, respectively, in their curved monitor shipment for 2Q21 against the market downtrend. These companies’ growths can be attributed to the fact that they did not adopt SDC panels for most of the models in their curved monitor lineups while SDC was the predominant supplier of curved monitor panels. LGE, in particular, did not procure panels from SDC at all. Instead, these aforementioned companies have mostly been sourcing panels from AUO or CSOT for their newly released curved monitors, meaning they will be relatively unaffected by SDC’s shuttering going forward.

For more information on reports and market data from TrendForce’s Department of Display Research, please click here, or email Ms. Vivie Liu from the Sales Department at vivieliu@trendforce.com

（Cover image source: Unsplash）

Given the expected price hike of LCD display panels in 2021 and the high demand for electronic products that has persisted since last year due to the stay-at-home economy, various IT product suppliers are under tremendous stress from not only the enormous number of client orders, but also surging quotes from panel manufacturers. And LCD monitor manufacturers are no exception.

According to TrendForce’s investigations into monitor pricing, the cost of the LCD panel typically accounts for about 40-50% of a monitor’s retail prices. Conversely, in the high-end segment, panel costs account for about 30-40% of monitor retail prices due to other factors, such as the inclusion of industrial design and premium components.

Regarding the sales of mainstream products, monitor brands face three different sources of pricing pressure. Put in layman’s terms, these sources are equivalent to taking an SAT, hunting for jobs post-college, and (for middle-aged people) transitioning one’s career after being fired.

Despite ample room for panel prices to change, raising retail prices of monitors remains difficult, and such prices hikes lag far behind the increase of panel costs

More specifically, 27-inch IPS FHD products can be analogized to the SAT, as monitor brands are relatively well-equipped to deal with increases in panel costs for this product category. For the most part, panel costs account for less than 50% of these products’ retail prices in 2021. In other words, since 27-inch IPS FHD monitors are still relatively profitable for monitor brands, brands will attempt to increase the share of these products in their shipment of all product categories.

With regards to 23.8-inch IPS products, monitor brands face pressure that is about equivalent to the job search process that takes place after graduating from college. Panel costs have been accounting for more than 40% of monitor retail prices since February. In view of rising panel costs, this percentage is expected to reach 50-55% in 3Q21, which is approximately the breakeven point for monitor brands.

However, because brands will attempt to maintain a certain level of shipment, 23.8-inch IPS monitors will continue to remain the market mainstream.

On the other hand, brands do not prioritize the sales of 21.5-inch TN products as much as they do the other products. Panel prices for this product category have been rising since 2Q20, and this price hike has been intensifying since 2H20.

Entering October 2020, panel costs began accounting for a considerable part of retail prices, in turn surpassing 50% in January 2021 and 60% in June 2021. Since panel manufacturers are disinclined to continue supplying 21.5-inch TN panels, the gap between supply and demand will persist, resulting in either an upward trajectory or bullish outlook for panel prices. In other words, the relative high costs of these panels will not only remain unresolved, but also likely worsen going forward.

TrendForce therefore believes that monitor brands may need to package their 21.5-inch TN monitors within bundle sales in order to offset the rising costs of panels. Alternatively, brands may also raise the retail prices of these products by about US$20-30 in order ensure that panel costs account for only about 50% of the monitors’ retail prices.

On the whole, the magnitude of financial losses incurred by monitor brands through price hikes, panel shortages, or the continued sale of 21.5-inch TN monitors will become the key determinant to how monitor brands adjust the volume of other mid-sized and large-sized products within their total monitor shipments.

（Cover image source: Unsplash）