Taiwan's PC monitor shipments registered increases of 8.2% sequentially and 5.8% on year in the third quarter of 2019, according to Digitimes Research. But shipments are unlikely to see further on-year growth in the fourth quarter.
The shipment growth in the third quarter was contributed by brand vendors stocking extra inventory as a precaution against the upcoming US tariffs on monitors imported from China, while LG Electronics, which manufactures most of its monitors in house, had lost share in the mid-range to entry-level segment due to fierce competition from US-based brands and TPV's sub-brands, Digitimes Research's figures show.
Since most brand vendors have already advanced their fourth-quarter orders to the third quarter, Taiwan's fourth-quarter monitor shipments are expected to slip over 10% sequentially and witness the first on-year decline since the first quarter of 2018.
Taiwan's share of global PC monitor shipments went up to above 70% in the third quarter as Taiwan makers' clients were able to make gains against LG Electronics in the mid-range to entry-level segment.
PC monitors sized 22-inch and above did not see much growth in shipment share in the third quarter, while 21.x-inch ones had a major gain in share as most of LG's monitors that were undermined by fierce competition were within the size range. However, in the long term, demand will continue leaning toward large-size models.
Qisda has been seeing stable shipments every quarter in 2019, while TPV, Foxconn Technology Group (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Wistron all experienced over 10% on-quarter increases in third-quarter shipments. Wistron also registered an over 30% on-year growth in the third quarter due primarily to Hewlett-Packard's (HP) order ramp-up.
TPV and Qisda were the top-2 monitor makers worldwide in the third quarter, while Foxconn was in third place, surpassing LG Electronics. With the exception of Qisda, TPV, Foxconn and Wistron will all see over 10% sequential declines in the fourth quarter.
The production value of Taiwan's PC monitors saw a sequential growth weaker than that of unit shipments in the third quarter and the trend will continue in the fourth quarter. With panel prices continuing to drop, PC monitor ASP also slipped sequentially in the third quarter.