Flat panel displays come in many flavors, the most common of which is
called "liquid crystal display" (LCD) technology. Other formats
gaining use include "plasma" formats (PDP) used in very large screens
such as television sets, "field emission display" screens (FED), and a
new format known as "OLED" or Organic Light-Emitting Diode mostly used
in handheld devices (more on OLED:
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-268019.html)
Corning, a major producer of flat panel displays in these markets
predicts that by 2006, 50% of all computer monitors produced will be
flat-panels.
[more details: http://www.shareholder.com/corning/downloads/ARsummary_2001.pdf]
COUNTRIES OF PRODUCTION
Though a number of nations produce flat panel displays, southeast Asia
has a near cornerhold on the market. China, Japan, and South Korea,
specifically, produce most of the world's displays, with Taiwan coming
in shortly behind.
According to a report by Patricia Cladis, back in the early-mid 1990s,
Japan accounted for 90% of the world's LCD production. From 1989 on,
"LCD production of both passive and active LCDs has grown in Japan at
a staggering 35% annual rate (in yen) to about $3.5 billion (435.5
billion yen) in 1991. In 1992, the total LCD growth rate slowed
somewhat to a still phenomenal 20%, reaching $4.7 billion (516.5
billion yen), with the TFT LCD sector reporting an outstanding 161%
growth (to $1.2 billion or 132.2 billion yen) (Nikkei Microdevices,
1992).
[more details: http://itri.loyola.edu/displays/af_world.htm]
In the last few years with a ramp-up in production, the demand for
LCDs has skyrocketed. As of December 2001, 1.73 million LCDs were due
to be shipped for the year, compared with 337,400 from the previous
year, largely due to falling prices and a glut in the marketplace.
And China, having only shipped 11,000 units the previous year, was due
to ship 500,000 units for the year, taking about 30% of the market.
[more details: http://news.com.com/2100-1040-277167.html]
Though there has been an initiative to produce flat panels in the
United States, few companies have gone into large-scale production
there, as the costs to set up a new flat-panel plant are over $400
million according to a report by William Boulton, and as a result,
almost all displays are imported from southeast Asia.
[more details: http://web6.duc.auburn.edu/~boultwr/lcdnote.pdf]
DETAILED REPORTS
For detailed information about other countries and their specific
production numbers, Global Industry Analysts completed a report on the
world market place for flat panel displays with data per region.
However, the report costs $280. You may view its table of contents
and purchase the report if interested from Info-Edge.com.
[more details: http://www.info-edge.com/product_detail.asp?sku1=15707&sku2=16589&]
Stanford Resources also puts out a similar regularly-updated report on
the LCD market for a price of $1,000, but it lists every major
production company and assesses each.
[more details: http://www.stanfordresources.com/cart/ProductDetail.asp?id=5022]
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Several other articles you may find of interest are listed below.
Taiwan's place in the global LCD market:
[http://www.globalsources.com/MAGAZINE/EC/0109W3/PRDISPTW.HTM]
U.S. fights back on thin displays
[http://news.com.com/2100-1040-218275.html]
I hope this helps!
--Joey |
Clarification of Answer by
joey-ga
on
06 May 2002 23:09 PDT
Well, whenever people refer to "flat-panels", they generally are (by
definition) referring to monitors that are *not* CRTs.
[e.g., see c|net's glossary definition:
http://www.cnet.com/Resources/Info/Glossary/Terms/flatpaneldisplay.html]
Some manufacturers recently, as a way to boost the CRT industry have
made some monitors that are still CRT-based with all their bulkiness,
but with very flat fronts (instead of the gentle curve that most CRTs
have). Some marketers have branded these monitors as (among other
names) "Super Flat."
Even with names like this, though, the term "flat panel displays"
almost exclusively refers to those monitors that are not CRTs.
Does this answer your question?
--Joey
|
