TV manufacturers like Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sony are going to have to cough up more readies to secure a supply of LCD panels ahead of the busy end-of-year sales season. Chinese panel makers, which have established a monopoly on the LCD display manufacturing industry, are reportedly raising prices for their products across the board.
A report in The Elec last week revealed that China’s three dominant LCD panel makers, BOE, TCL CSOT and HKC Display Technology, have all notified customers of their intention to raise prices for their products. Samsung, LG and Sony have all said they have received notices. BOE’s new prices will come into effect sometime in the fourth quarter, while TCL CSOT and HKC will adjust their pricing for select products later this month.
It’s bad timing for the TV brands, because this is the time of year that they scramble to secure the components they need in order to ramp up production ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas shopping season, which is their busiest period of the year. So they’re in no position to object to the panel maker’s decision.
The Elec says the panel makers aren’t increasing their prices because there’s a shortage of LCD manufacturing capacity. Rather, it’s the opposition. The three panel makers are all operating at around 70% of their production capacity. Instead of increasing their output, they’re limiting production in order to avoid oversupply and support their profit margins.
This is possible because China has managed to establish a stranglehold over the LCD panel manufacturing industry. According to the market research firm Omdia, the three companies have formed what is essentially an “oligopoly,” or a kind of cartel that allows them to dictate prices. Together, they account for around 75% to 85% of the world’s 65-, 75- and 85-inch panels. They also manufacture virtually all of the world’s ultra-large LCD panels of 100-inches and larger.
BOE, TCL CSOT and HKC were able to establish that stranglehold over the market over the last 10 years by steadily increasing their production capacity and undercutting their Japanese and South Korean rivals. Japanese display makers were forced out years ago, while Samsung Display gave up on LCD panel production in 2022, and LG Display followed in 2025.
The big question is what this means for LCD TV prices. LCD panels still go into the vast majority of the world’s TVs, including more advanced products such as Mini-LED and RGB LED TVs, so there is a risk that these higher manufacturing costs could be passed onto consumers. However, that may not be the case. It’s notable that TVs are basically the only kind of consumer electronic product that has not gone up in price this year. Whereas things like PCs, games consoles and, lately, even set-top boxes and streaming sticks have become more expensive due to the global shortage of RAM, TV prices have stayed the same, and in some cases even become cheaper.
That suggests TV makers do have some ability to absorb the higher component costs, mainly due to the fact that most of their revenue these days comes from advertising rather than profits on hardware sales. Nonetheless, the message is clear: China now has full control over a key part of the TV supply chain and will have a big influence over the industry going forward.
