On April 2nd, the U.S. announced a new round of reciprocal tariffs, followed by a provision allowing exemption for goods with more than 20% “U.S. value”. TrendForce’s latest observations reveal that the lack of macroeconomic improvement since 2024, coupled with the inflationary and recessionary risks posed by these new tariffs, has prompted a downward revision of the 2025 shipment outlook for several end-device markets—including AI servers, servers, smartphones, and notebooks.
LG Display’s Guangzhou Gen 8.5 LCD line was officially transferred to CSOT today (April 1st) and renamed “T11”. CSOT will now own two Gen 6, four Gen 8.5, one Gen 8.6, and two Gen 10.5 LCD production lines with this acquisition. TrendForce notes that the completion of this—along with ramping up capacity at CSOT’s T9 Gen 8.6 line—will increase the company’s share of global large-generation (Gen 5 and above) LCD production area by 3.6 percentage points to 22.9%. As T11 mainly produces TV and public information display (PID) panels, the combined TV market share of the top three panel makers—BOE, CSOT, and HKC—is expected to rise further to 66%.
TrendForce’s latest findings reveal that government incentives in China are boosting overall solar demand and creating a sense of supply tightness in the PV module market. This surge is expected to trigger a moderate demand peak in March and April 2025, likely pushing prices across the solar value chain higher in the second quarter.
TrendForce reports that NAND Flash suppliers began reducing production in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the effects are now starting to show. In anticipation of potential U.S. tariff increases, consumer electronics brands have accelerated production, further driving up demand. Concurrently, inventory restocking is underway across the PC, smartphone, and data center sectors. As a result, NAND Flash prices are expected to stabilize in the second quarter of 2025, with prices for wafers and client SSDs projected to rise.
TrendForce’s latest findings reveal that U.S. tariff hikes prompted most downstream brands to frontload shipments to 1Q25, accelerating inventory reduction across the memory supply chain. Looking ahead to the second quarter, conventional DRAM prices are expected to decline by just 0–5% QoQ, while average DRAM pricing including HBM is forecast to rise by 3–8%, driven by increasing shipments of HBM3e 12hi.
TrendForce reports that NVIDIA introduced the Isaac GR00T N1 foundation model for general-purpose humanoid robots at GTC 2025. This open-source model features comprehensive datasets, multi-modal inputs, and adaptable training capabilities, enabling researchers to fine-tune GR00T N1 with real and synthetic data for specific environments and applications. GR00T N1 is expected to drive early market adoption of humanoid robots by accelerating AI model training and reducing time-to-market, with the industry’s total market value projected to approach US$4 billion by 2028.
TrendForce’s latest findings on the AI server supply chain have revealed that NVIDIA is expected to launch the GB300 chip ahead of schedule in 2Q25. However, due to its improved computing performance, memory capacity, networking, and power management compared to the GB200, ODM partners will require additional time for testing and customer validation.
TrendForce reveals that the combined revenue of the world’s top 10 IC design houses reached approximately US$249.8 billion in 2024, marking a 49% YoY increase. The booming AI industry has fueled growth across the semiconductor sector, with NVIDIA leading the charge, posting an astonishing 125% revenue growth, widening its lead over competitors, and solidifying its dominance in the IC industry.
TrendForce’s latest research reveals that solid-state batteries are emerging as the next-generation battery technology with high commercial potential. Manufacturers across the U.S., Europe, and other global markets are accelerating large-scale production development and performance validation for automotive applications.
