Benefiting from back-to-school demand in September, China's National Day holiday in October and the end-of-year holidays in the US and Europe, large-size TFT-LCD panel price may rebound starting August, according to sources from panel makers.

Overall large-size panel prices have dropped about US$1-2 in the second half of June, a relatively insignificant drop for a time in the second quarter of the year. However, overall large-size panel shipments have continued to increase monthly during the second quarter as vendors place orders ahead of the seasonal uptick in the third quarter, the sources noted, adding that the panel sector's overall utilization rate for the large-size segment is expected to be remain at over 90% in the third quarter.

Facing intense price competition in the end market, especially in Europe and China, monitor brands and OEMs asked panel suppliers to cut prices in June, and prices for monitor panels dropped about US$2 in the second half of June to US$73-108, according to pricing data from DisplaySearch. Monitor panel prices are expected to stabilize in July when vendors and makers restock panels for their aggressive third-quarter shipment targets, the research firm noted.

Notebook panel prices dropped US$1-2, and TV panel prices also dropped US$1-2 in the second half of June.

Overall production capacity is expected to increase in the third quarter, the sources noted. LG Display and Chimei Innolux (CMI) are increasing their 8.5G capacities, while CMI and China-based BOE are also expanding their 6G plants.