TV manufacturers ramping up for holiday demand pushed monthly LCD TV production to a record high, according to a new report from NPD DisplaySearch.
Of the TV brands it surveyed for its "MarketWise - LCD Industry Dynamics" report, production reached a record high of 19.8 million units in October, and was expected to maintain that level in November.
LCD TV production was expected to be sustained in November as Chinese TV brands, aiming for monthly shipment growth in November and December, prepared for the Chinese New Year holiday. NPD DisplaySearch estimated November to be the highest on record with 19.9 million units built by the surveyed brands globally.
The outlook for TV demand is turning positive for unit volume in the near term, but the focus is on inexpensive and simple-feature sets, the research organization said. TV brands, including leading global vendors, are planning to carry new TV sizes and low-specification LCD TVs to create business opportunities and drive traffic in 2012.
Despite strong sell-through results in North America and China, LCD TV brands are cautiously controlling their inventories. For December through February, LCD TV brands are planning to reduce production to prevent overstocking for the slow season in the first quarter of 2012. Global LCD TV production plans of surveyed LCD TV brands will fall to 13.4 million in January. LCD TV panel suppliers will need to continuously control their capacity utilization in the coming months, even as panel prices stabilize, NPD DisplaySearch said