LCD-TV panel prices will fall by another 3 to 5% in September, predicts Witsview in its panel price survey for September, and IT panels are likely to drop by 5 to 8%. For the first half of September, the average price of 32-inch WXGA LCD panels dropped from $270 to $260, and 42-inch WXGA panels dropped from $450 to $430. (Witsview performs its pricing surveys twice a month.)

Ken Werner
Senior Analyst and Editor

DisplaySearch, in its PriceWise pricing service, tells a similar story, with 32-inch panels dropping to $260 in September from $270 in August (based on whole rather than half months) and 42-inch Full HD panels dropping from $470 to $450. (For comparison, DisplaySearch has 42-inch WXGA plasma panels at $322, a price that has held within $1 since May.)

Similar price pressures are being felt for monitor and notebook panels, because the seasonal run-up in demand expected at this time of year, while present, is weaker than usual. We all know the reason. Sales of non-essential consumer products suffer when consumers are experiencing financial pain.

This trend has been clear for months, and Taiwanese panel makers, in particular, have been aggressively reducing their plant utilization rates since July to clear excess inventory, reported Digitimes today. But system makers have been equally careful in adjusting their own inventory, so it’s taking time for supply and demand to find a balance.

With the large price drops for IT panels experienced in July and August — typical prices for 19-inch wide monitor panels, for example, fell from $125 in June to $88 in August, and another $8 to $80 in September, according to DisplaySearch — prices for monitor panels have dropped below the fully-loaded cost and are closing in on the direct cost. This is also true for mainstream 15.4- and 14.1-inch wide notebook panels. Prices are being quoted for some TV panels that are close to break-even.

When panel makers are faced with attaching a $10 bill to each panel they sell, prices often (but not always) firm up. And system makers are likely to work through their own panel inventories as the holiday season progresses. The bottom should be near — unless the global economic news gets even worse and consumers cut back even more.