Samsung announces LCD production suspension and further postponement

Due to mature technology and low cost, LCD screens are still used in a large number of low-end Android products and some iPhone series products. However, LCD screens have been gradually replaced by OLED screens in the past two years. In the case of low profit margins, screen manufacturers choose to reduce or close LCD screen production lines.

In March of this year, Samsung sold its LCD factory in Suzhou and announced that it would close all its LCD screen production factories in China and South Korea by the end of this year. It also planned to invest more than US$10 billion to upgrade the production lines that originally produced LCD screens to manufacture QD-OLED panels. Later in November, Samsung delayed the closure of its L8 LCD factory in Asan, South Korea to March next year.

However, the plan to shut down the LCD production line was once again postponed by Samsung, which announced yesterday that it would delay the LCD production line until the end of next year.

South Korean media said that due to the impact of the epidemic, people staying at home have a surge in demand for products equipped with LCD screens, such as various TVs, so Samsung Electronics has asked Samsung Display to continue producing LCD panels.

According to TrendForce data, since the outbreak, the market for digital products such as laptops and TVs has seen a quarterly growth rate of nearly 30%, and the huge demand has also brought more profits than usual to screen panel manufacturers. We learned from data disclosed by Qunzhi Consulting that in late this month, the prices of 32-inch to 75-inch TV panels have increased by $2 to $5 compared to the previous period. With the trend of rising panel prices, Samsung obviously wants to make another profit.