Research indicates that the mobile phone panel market has continued its weak trend from the second quarter into the third quarter, with demand showing further signs of softening.
Some panel manufacturers, aiming to maintain production line utilization and hedge against potential future cost increases, pulled forward certain orders originally slated for the third quarter into the second quarter.
This front-loading of demand has led to a sequential contraction in market requirements as the third quarter commenced.
Panel prices across various technology segments are facing downward pressure of varying degrees, caught between the dual challenges of overall weakening demand and persistently high costs for key upstream components like memory chips.
For a-Si panels, module costs are rising and profit margins are under pressure due to the pass-through of price increases for materials such as integrated circuits and flexible printed circuits.
While a-Si module prices are expected to remain stable in July, mirroring the trend from June, the effect of the second-quarter pre-stocking on subsequent orders will gradually become apparent, posing a risk of a decline in procurement increments for the third quarter.
Regarding LTPS panels, although overall production line utilization remained high earlier, supported by robust demand for automotive displays and orders for new notebook and tablet iterations, this is expected to decrease in the third quarter.
This anticipated drop is due to the arrival of the traditional low season and the earlier release of some third-quarter demand into the second quarter.
Prices for LTPS mobile panels in July are projected to be generally stable with a slight downward bias.
In the AMOLED segment, despite leading rigid AMOLED manufacturer Samsung Display (SDC) implementing price reductions, this strategy has not effectively stimulated procurement momentum from device makers.
Consequently, rigid AMOLED prices are forecast to stabilize at low levels in July.
Flexible AMOLED panels have been significantly impacted by the substantial rise in memory chip prices.
In a bid to secure project share, panel manufacturers are continuously offering concessions during price negotiations, leading to intense competition.
As third-quarter end-demand weakens further, exacerbating the imbalance between market supply and demand, flexible AMOLED panel prices are predicted to decline further in the third quarter.
The market is expected to persist in a phase of trading price for volume.
Projections indicate that a-Si module prices will hold steady in the short term during July and August, LTPS panel prices will be stable with a slight decline, rigid AMOLED panel prices will remain flat in the near term, and flexible AMOLED panel prices will continue their downward trajectory.
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