Photo courtesy FGL Sports
Global revenues for liquid crystal display (LCD) shipments for the digital signage market rose 22 per cent from 2012 to 2013, according to a new report, even though actual unit shipments rose by only five per cent, suggesting a growing demand for higher-priced models.
According to the latest quarterly report from NPD DisplaySearch, a market research and consulting organization, revenues grew from nearly $734 million in the first quarter of 2012 to approximately $897 million in the same quarter in 2013.
These trends would seem to jar with statistics collected and widely reported elsewhere in the LCD manufacturing industry, which show prices are dropping and there is a surplus of inventory. Analysts at IHS, for example, recently pointed to a glut of large LCD panels for the TV and information technology (IT) sectors, where production is consistently outpacing shipments.
NPD explains the majority of the market growth seen in its new report can be attributed to a shift in the digital signage industry toward larger and more expensive LCDs, including those with super-narrow bezels, which are mainly used as components in video walls and other premium commercial applications.
“We are starting to see the improved financial results of a planned shift in production to larger panel sizes,” says Todd Fender, NPD’s senior analyst for professional and commercial displays. “Premium models will increasingly be shipped, with smaller bezels, higher brightness and higher resolutions, which all lead to higher average selling prices.”
The company forecasts shipments of 1.5-m (60-in.) and larger LCDs will continue to grow rapidly, from 308,000 in 2013 to one million by 2017, at which point they will represent 16.3 per cent of the public display market.
Not all premium features, however, are expected to be led by digital signage industry demand.
“It may take some time for higher-resolution ‘4K x 2K’ displays to add significant revenues and volumes to the public display market,” says Fender. “The initial growth of these displays will be heavily focused on consumer markets, not necessarily commercial markets.”
Charts courtesy NPD DisplaySearch
