COVID-19 impacting the LCD industry

COVID-19 has impacted our lives in many ways. We have had to come to terms with the threat of having to succumb to the virus ourselves or with losing loved ones, confining ourselves to the rules of social distancing measures, dealing with disruptions to further education and working practices resulting in irreparable damage to the national and global economies.

COVID-19 is now having a devastating impact on the LCD supply chain due to a surge in demand for laptops for remote working and home studies. Many LCD panel makers have now ramped up their production output to meet this surge in demand and output is expected to increase in 2021, some 30% above volumes that were previously predicted. However, the situation also looks challenging for makers of laptops as IC suppliers are set to give priority to power management (PWM) and sensing ICs needed for 5G and smartphone applications.

​Take action now

With this impending disruption to the LCD supply chain, leadtimes for LCD panels being are being extended to 5 months and prices are inevitably increasing due to the shortage, meaning there is an even greater importance to act now.