Samsung Display will stop producing LCDs at the end of June, six months ahead of the previously planned deadline. Industry insiders revealed competition was too strong, and Samsung Group wished to reduce its losses.
According to a report in Korea Times, Samsung Display has taken the decision to end LCD production hobbled by a declining global competitive edge due to cheaper products made by its Chinese and Taiwanese counterparts. However, the company has not announced any investment plan details since.
A report from Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), a US market research firm, stated that the average price index of LCD panels, measured against 100 in January 2014, will fall to 36.6 in September of this year. The figure has dropped farther from the record low of 41.5 in April of this year, and 58 percent lower than the record high of 87 in June 2021.
Samsung had earlier planned to shut down its LCD business in 2020, but due to COVID-19 and the demand for cheaper home entertainment devices (including low-cost smartphones and tablets), the company postponed this major step.
Samsung Display’s decision to extend LCD production in South Korea for an unspecified period of time overrode its announcement in March that it would end all production by the end of the year to focus on more advanced technology. Samsung Display then announced that the length of the extension would depend on market conditions. It had said in late October that it was considering a “short-term” extension.
Company personnel were unavailable for comment, and there is information on the investment plan’s specifics at this time.