LG Display to Continue Production at Guangzhou plant

A comparison of the structures of a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display

Samsung Display is reportedly considering advancing its withdrawal from the liquid crystal display (LCD) business from the planned end of 2022 to June 2022.

Samsung Display is producing LCD panels for TVs at L8-2, a large LCD production line at the Asan Campus in South Chungcheong Province. It will make a final decision after a consultation with Samsung Electronics, its largest customer and a sister company.

Samsung Electronics has decided to increase the purchase volume of low-priced LCD panels from China’s BOE, Taiwan’s AOU and Innolux to boost its market share and price competitiveness.

A fall in LCD panel prices also seems to have forced Samsung Display to give up the LCD business. According to market research firm Display Supply Chain Consulting (DSCC), the price of a 32-inch LCD TV panel recorded US$38 (about 45,300 won) in January 2022. This means a 64 percent drop from US$88 in June 2021.

Samsung Display has decided to focus on fostering QD organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels instead of LCDs. Since the end of 2021, the company has been making large QD displays (2200×2500 mm) at the 8.5th-generation production line (Q1) of the Asan Campus. However, its shipments in 2021 were small -- 720,000 units of 55-inch panels and 1.08 million units of 65-inch panels. It accounts for only 3.6 percent of Samsung Electronics’ annual TV shipments, which hit 49.28 million units in 2020. Accordingly, Samsung Display is speeding up its switch to next-generation displays by converting its LCD production line to a QD display production line.

Meanwhile, unlike Samsung Display, LG Display has decided to continue producing LCD TV panels at its Guangzhou plant in China. However, it will also speed up its conversion to OLED displays. It has decided to reduce overall LCD production by converting LCD supplies for information and communication (IT) devices such as laptops and tablet PCs to OLED supplies.


 

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