Chinese and Taiwanese display makers will dominate the LCD industry in 2020 in a year when total shipments of the products are expected to fall by 8.2% to just 265 million units, according to new research from IHS Markit. 

The market research firm told The Elec that it would mark the first annual decrease in LCD panel shipments in more than a decade. That’s because while Chinese firms intend to step up shipments, South Korean suppliers are cutting back. 

LG Display for example was the second-ranked company in terms of total LCD panels shipments this year, but will fall to 5th spot next year, IHS Markit said. And Samsung Display will disappear from the top 5 list altogether. The companies had previously ranked as the world’s top two LCD panel suppliers in 2016. 

The two South Korean giants are instead pursuing more modern display technologies at the expense of LCD. That’s partly because consumers are showing increased demand for more premium TVs that use OLED, Micro LED or other display technologies, and partly because the LCD display market has been saturated with new products from heavily subsidised Chinese manufacturers, leading to a decline in prices.

China’s BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. became the world’s leading supplier of LCD panels in 2019 for the first time, and is likely to continue to lead the industry with a 21% market share in 2020, IHS Markit said. China Star Optoelectronics Technology is expected to rank second with a 16% market share, with Taiwan’s Innolux set to come third and HKC of China coming fourth. 

BOE and CSOT have both risen to dominate the industry after they started mass producing Gen-10.5 and Gen-11 LCD panels in the last year. CSOT is expected to increase production at its first Gen-11 LCD line, the T6, by the end of the year, while its second line, T7, is expected to kick into gear from 2021. 

Looking at shipments from a national basis, China is expected to account for 58% of all LCD panels shipped in 2020, up from 47% this year. South Korea meanwhile will account for just 17% of all shipments, down from 27% this year. Taiwanese firms will make up another 22% of all global volume, IHS Markit said.