International Electronic Business Information learned on the 3rd that the recent explosion in the furnace of the upstream panel glass substrate factory has attracted much attention, and industry analysts generally believe that the event will affect panel production capacity. However, just yesterday, Japan Electric Glass (NEG), which caused a panic of glass substrate shortages in December last year, announced that the glass substrate equipment at the involved plant has resumed work. It is expected to resume normal production before the end of March and will expand production...

Following the panel factory’s “second ancestral supply”-Japan Electric Glass (NEG) Takatsuki Glass Substrate Factory’s power trip incident, last Friday, another Japanese glass substrate manufacturer Asahi Glass (AGC) also exploded unexpectedly in Gumi, South Korea.

IDC: The panel industry is not in the off-season, and the shortage of driver ICs and glass substrates is the main reason
In this regard, Chen Jianzhu, a market analyst at IDC, a market research agency, believes that the explosion of the AGC South Korea plant last Friday “really made the original panel shortage more serious. Although the panel plant will find a source of spare glass substrate supply channels for emergency, downstream brands Customers are worried about not being able to buy panels, and most of them actively purchase, which drives up the price of panels. In addition, panel driver ICs are also seriously out of stock. Under the panic of shortage, panel prices have risen significantly."
In an interview with the Central News Agency, Chen Jianzhu said that due to the lack of driver ICs for panels, the impact is even greater than that of glass substrates, which also makes the panel industry not weak in the off-season, and quotations are expected to rise.
"The European Union, Germany, Japan and other countries are demanding automotive chip production capacity from Taiwan, China. The wafer fabs that were already fully equipped have received urgent orders to move the drive IC production capacity to the automotive market, creating a crowding effect and increasing shortages. At the same time, product prices have also risen.
Chen Jianzhu pointed out that the first quarter was the off-season for panels. The market had expected the panel to converge. However, due to the serious shortage of upstream raw materials, panel prices continued to rise. The price of laptop panels has risen regardless of high-definition picture quality or full-definition picture quality. Each piece has risen by about US$1.5, and LCD monitor panels have also risen. Among them, 21.5-inch and 23.8-inch panels have risen by US$3 each in February and March. , Even in April there is a chance to rise again.
In terms of TV panels, he analyzed that the demand for 32-inch panels became strong in February, but the driver ICs were insufficient. Each piece rose by US$3, 43-inch by US$4, 50-inch and 55-inch by US$5, and 65-inch by US$6 to 7. It may rise again in the coming months.