Aggregate global demand for electronic displays is projected to increase more than 13% a year through 2008 according to a study from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industrial market firm.
Aggregate global demand for electronic displays is projected to increase more than 13% a year through 2008, according to a study from The Freedonia Group Inc. , a Cleveland-based industrial market firm. Market figures in 2008 are estimated to reach US$113.5 billion.
Worldwide interest in displays has surged in the past few years in the face of strong demand for flat-panel computer monitors and the initial generations of high-definition flat-screen televisions, the report states. Continued strong growth is expected, concentrated in the flat-panel segment, where demand is expected to increase at a robust 20% annually, it goes on. Factors influencing the growth include favorable aesthetics and ongoing improvements in resolution and picture quality. Flat-panel displays will also benefit from increasing cost-effectiveness relative to CRTs.
| World Electronic Display Demand (billion U.S. $) |
|||||
| % Annual growth | |||||
| Item | 1998 | 2003 | 2008 | 03/1998 | 08/2003 |
| Electronic display demand | 40.1 | 61.2 | 113.5 | 8.8 | 13.2 |
| Flat panel | 11.6 | 38.4 | 94.7 | 27.0 | 19.8 |
| LCD | 9.6 | 34.1 | 82.4 | 28.9 | 19.3 |
| Plasma and other flat panel | 2.1 | 4.3 | 12.3 | 15.7 | 23.5 |
| CRT | 28.4 | 22.8 | 18.8 | -4.3 | -3.8 |
| Data courtesy of The Freedonia Group, Inc. 2004 | |||||
According to the report, liquid crystal displays (LCDs)—in particular so-called active-matrix LCDs built on thin-film transistors (TFT-LCDs)—have also enjoyed strong growth. As of 2003, LCDs as a whole accounted for just under 90% of the total world flat-panel display market. LCDs have achieved strong penetration in the desktop computer monitor market, outstripping CRT-based monitors for total revenue generated. Robust growth in LCD demand is expected through the rest of this decade and beyond, the report showed.
Other study findings indicate that plasma displays and microdisplays have also enjoyed healthy growth, and they are expected to continue to post strong gains. These display technologies, along with LCDs, hold particularly good prospects in high-definition television applications. Additionally, advanced technology organic light-emitting diode (OLED) flat-panel displays hold much promise over the intermediate-to-longer term. However, cost and technical hurdles to large-scale commercialization remain formidable.
Finally, the study found that Asian nations dominate electronic display production. In 2003, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China accounted for a combined share of just under 79% of total world electronic display shipments and 95% of flat-panel display output. These countries also represent the largest exporters of electronic displays to the rest of the world. Because large electronics manufacturing and assembly sectors are located in numerous countries in this region, Asian nations dominate total global demand for displays as well.
For information about obtaining a copy of the complete report, World Electronic Displays, email [email protected] or visit the Freedonia GroupWeb site .
Research on operator interfaces and other products is available at the Control Engineering Resource Center .
—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, [email protected]
