Taiwan's optoelectronics industry in the first half of 2021 shows strong growth, compared to the same period in 2020, due to the large-scale stimulus plans from major economies and the steady global economic demand. Among the optoelectronic industry, panels have increased the most, because of the stay-at-home economy and shortage of raw materials and components, which have stimulated the increase in panel price.

Unit sales of flat-screen TVs including OLED TVs in Japan increased for the 15th consecutive month in June 2021, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).

Taiwan-based digital paper solution provider, E Ink Holdings, and Ricoh have jointly unveiled an ultra-thin digital whiteboard, with applications across medical, construction, and office settings.

Taiwan-based makers received export orders totaling US$53.73 billion in June 2021, increasing 2.8% sequentially and 31.1% on year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

LCD panel makers in Taiwan and China are optimizing either production capacity or innovative technologies to enhance their presence in the IT segment, where demand for gaming monitor and notebook applications has been robust thanks to COVID-19-induced stay-at-home activities, according to industry sources.

Some panel makers have begun shifting more of their capacity to produce display products for IT applications instead of handset ones, as handset panel prices have been falling in the face of the dwindling demand for smartphone in the end-market, according to industry sources.

China's leading panel maker BOE Technology has recently estimated that its net earnings for first-half 2021 would shoot up tenfold to reach CNY12.5-12.7 billion (US$1.934-1.965 billion), and its major peers in Taiwan have also reported impressive business results for the period, mainly due to continuous supply crunch and price hikes, according to industry sources.

Quotes for small- to medium-size TV panels have begun to fall in July amid weakening demand in the device-end market but those for large-size applications continue moving upward, albeit at a slower pace, according to industry sources.

AU Optronics (AUO) has reported consolidated revenues of NT$33.937 billion (US$1.21 billion) for June, the highest monthly level since December 2014 with growth of 5.66% on month and 57.06% on year.

HannStar Display plans to invest NT$17 billion (US$607.4 million) to build an additional LCD panel production capacity of 30,000 substrates monthly, which will come online by 2023, according to the company.

Touch solution provider TPK Holding has reported consolidated revenues of NT$7.098 billion (US$254 million) for June, decreasing 14.62% on month and 19.84% on year.

Display driver IC (DDI) prices will continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace, in the third quarter of 2021, as downstream LCD panel makers are reluctant to accept the new quotes from related IC vendors amid concerns of possible a slowdown in demand, according to industry sources.

China's top three LCD panel makers BOE Technology, China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) and Chongqing HKC will account for over 50% of global LCD TV panel production capacity in 2021, with the proportion set to climb to nearly 70% in 2023, according to market sources.

The ongoing shortage of notebook-use chips, panels and other components is expected to improve substantially in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Digitimes Research.

Prices of LCD panels are forecast to stabilize in the third quarter of 2021 before heading for a downward correction in the fourth quarter and 2022 due to reduced demand, according to industry sources.

Apple reportedly will be making a rare investment to expand surface mounting technology (SMT) assembly capacity at its partners to satisfy demand for its miniLED-backlit devices including the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and upcoming MacBook series, according to supply chain sources.

The TV market scale in China in terms of unit shipments continues to shrink, but the growing demand for large-size models there is driving the upgrades in the TV panel sector, which in turn will accelerate the transformation of price competition into value competition in the TV industry, according to industry sources.

Of export orders received by Taiwan-based manufacturers and exporters in 2020, domestic production accounted for 46.0%, slipping 1.4pp on year, according to a survey of overseas production for export orders conducted by Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

LCD panel prices will continue to rise in July, but at a slower pace as sales of TVs in China are heading for a slowdown, weakening demand for panels, according to industry sources.

Notebook ODMs and brand vendors continue to see their shipments constrained by chip shortages, though supply of some other components may improve later this year, according to industry sources.

DIGITIMES has planned a series of special research projects, targeting the changes in the Asia market and supply chain. For the research, DIGITIMES has picked 100 representative Asian enterprises from the ICT and car sectors in terms of their revenues.

Competition between Taiwan's top two LCD panel makers, AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux, has heated up as they strive to outrace each other in sales to become the top vendor in the local display industry, according to market sources.

With more capcity support from foundry houses, car chip vendors can now ramp up their output. Some international automotive IC vendors have notified their clients that they can expect more supplies in second-half 2021. Foundry houses have been keen on expanding production capacity. Globalfoundries has just broken ground for a 12-inch fab construction project in Singapore. In the dispaly industry, glass substrate supplier Corning is said to be reducing supply to Korean clients who are set to terminate LCD panel production despite delays.

Corning is reportedly adjusting its supply strategy amid the tight supply of display glass substrates and the structural changes of the display industry, according to sources from Taiwan's supply chain.

Taiwan tech firms have made considerable achievements in the EV sector, having entered the supply chain of Tesla. But as the car market is still dominated by traditional marques who are now also keen to continue the market of future cars, Taiwan tech firms face quite some hurdles to entering the supply chains of these major car vendors. With the easing of the pandemic possibly slowing demand for devices supporting stay-at-home needs, chip vendors are now said to be expecting Chromebook shipments to grow at a slower pace in 2021. Corning has announced a moderate price hike to its display glass substrates in third-quarter 2021 to reflect rising production costs.