On-going effects of the pandemic on the display delivery situation

There is increasing information that deals with the current difficult procurement situation for display components such as TFT panels, certain driver ICs and polarizers. Along with, in some cases, clearly noticeable price increases, delivery times are mentioned that are drastically increased.

For days there has been an increase in information from our partners who all deal with the same topic. The content of the news is the currently difficult procurement situation for display components such as TFT panels, certain driver ICs and polarizers. Along with, in some cases, clearly noticeable price increases, delivery times are mentioned that are drastically extended.A factor driven by the pandemic which leads to a shortage of components and thus to problems in display pro-duction is a much higher sales of TV sets in the 3rd quarter of 2020. According to current market analyzes, sales from China to the USA and Europe increased by more than 10 percent in Q3 2020 alone compared to the month of 2019. Accordingly, over 62 million units were shipped in these 3 months. Coupled with the turmoil in the LCD-TFT market due to the withdrawal of very large manufacturers from this technology such as Mitsubishi and Nanya, there are upheavals and needs that are at the expense of small screen diagonals and industry-typical sales volu-mes. Another reason for sell-out of the markets is the expansion and development of the 5G networks in China.

We, at ADKOM, try in very close cooperation with our partners to keep the impact on our customers as low as pos-sible, but it will probably not work out without negative news. Although there are estimates by leading manufac-turers that the situation could improve again in Q2 of next year, there is, unfortunately, no guarantee from today‘s perspective. It essentially depends on the development of the sales figures of the markets in 2021. That is why it is extremely important that you plan your needs together with us. In this way, a break in the supply chain can be avoi-ded at an early stage.The situation described does not only apply to customers of TFTs, but also has a great influence on passive LCD production. Driver ICs and polarizers are to be mentioned here throughout all technologies.