TFT monitor sales stay flat, notebooks reach record high

Austin (TX) - In spite of a 28% year-to-year growth for TFT LCD shipments in Q1 2007, revenues stayed relatively flat, showing an increase of just 1% over 2006. Meanwhile, shipments of notebook panels reached an all time quarterly high.

According to a recent report from DisplaySearch, which tracks LCD sales, about 79.3 million TFT LCD monitors were shipped in the first part of the year. That’s 28% more than the same period last year. However, that was not enough to combat the falling price of LCD technology, resulting in a revenue growth of just under 1%.

Year-to-year, the average unit price of a TV panel fell 17%. Interestingly enough, from 2005 to 2006, the price actually increased by 9%. Increased competition has finally put price pressure on the manufacturers in the past year.

Notebook PC panels, while also experiencing a decline in revenue, reached a shipment milestone higher than any previous Q1 period, according to DisplaySearch. About 23 million units were shipped in the first quarter of 2007, a 24% year-to-year increase.