Plasma panel makers continue to report strong growth, with third-quarter shipments rising 18 percent quarter to quarter and 37 percent year to year to nearly 4.2 million units.
That’s the second highest quarterly shipment total ever, and six percent higher than expected, according to the latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, Plasma and LCD TV Panel Shipment Module.
Strong demand continues for plasma TVs worldwide due to attractive price points and increasing availability of high-definition content.
DisplaySearch’s target of 15.5 million units shipped during 2008 is on target.
In other news, the 1080p share of plasma panel unit shipments remained more than 20 percent, after strong Q2 growth, rising to a record 856,000 units in Q3. Panasonic remained the dominant supplier of 1080p PDP plasma panels, accounting for 70 percent of units shipped. Samsung was the number-two 1080p plasma panel supplier at 15 percent unit share.
Shipments of 50-inch units continued to account for a growing share of plasma panel shipments, rising from 26 percent to a record 29 percent.
But 42-inch continues to be the most popular screen size at 49 percent of units. But this is the first quarter where 42-inch shipment share was less than 50 percent, according to the analyst.
Thirty-two-inch panels continue to be an important category of growth, rising 20 percent over last quarter to 486,000 units, accounting for nearly 12 percent of shipments. All of the growth came from ED resolution panels, which were popular in developing markets due to low pricing.
"The HD share of 32-inch plasma panel shipments declined, falling from 37 percent to 23 percent of units, as 32-inch LCD panel prices declined rapidly in Q3, thereby reducing the attractive pricing advantage plasma enjoyed in the 32-inch TV category," said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch director of North America TV Market Research. "In addition, aggressively lower retail prices at the end of Q3 for 42-inch and 50-inch HD plasma TVs are leading to a surge in demand for these models worldwide, especially in North America, and pushing overall plasma panel shipments sharply higher."
The top two plasma panel suppliers reported strong shipment growth in Q3. Panasonic maintained the number-one plasma panel supplier revenue position, with a three-point increase to a 39.8 percent share on 37 percent year-over-year growth. This was the highest growth of any supplier, due to record shipments of 50-inch panels.
Samsung SDI was the number-two plasma panel supplier on a revenue basis, but its share declined by almost two points despite having 30 percent year-over-year growth. LGE came in third with a 22 percent revenue share on weaker eight percent yearly growth. Pioneer moved up to number four, as Hitachi fell to fifth place on a 26 percent yearly decline in plasma panel revenues.
