Lower ‘Fab Utilization’ Prompts DSCC to Downgrade Its OLED Panel Forecasts

Reduced OLED “fab utilization” at Samsung Display and “related fab delays,” including those attributable to production cutbacks on the iPhone X (see 1802200030), prompted Display Supply Chain Consultants to scale back its forecast on OLED panel production for 2018 and beyond, blogged the research firm Monday. DSCC now expects global OLED production revenue to rise at a 23 percent compound annual growth rate the next four years, reaching $64.3 billion in 2022. Its previous forecast had OLED production revenue rising at a 27 percent CAGR to $79.6 billion in 2022. “It is still a rapidly growing market as most consumers prefer OLEDs and OLED capacity is still growing rapidly,” said DSCC. “It is just growing slower than previously expected.” Smartphones are expected to remain the dominant market for OLED displays, with about 91 percent of units shipped yearly. On an area basis, however, smartphones are expected to fall to a 50 percent share in 2022 from 64 percent in 2017, with TVs rising to 42 percent of the OLED display area produced in 2022 from 33 percent in 2017, it said. DSCC’s latest OLED smartphone panel forecast shows 543 million units being shipped in 2018, compared with its previous forecast of 622 million panels. Though a 13 percent downgrade from the previous forecast, that would still be a 24 percent increase year on year, it said.