Iris Hu, WitsView assistant research manager, stated that TV panel market experienced a steady rise in stock-up demand during the first half of 2015. At the same time, panel prices also began to weaken at the end of the first quarter. Therefore, the overall demand of branded TV vendors did not drop despite uncertainties in the TV market.

In the third quarter, panel prices continued their decline and the Chinese panel industry was putting additional capacity in place. This encouraged vendors to place more orders in exchange for lower prices. Global TV panel shipments reached 69.06 million units in the third quarter, translating to a 2.7% growth over the prior quarter and 7.4% growth compared with the same period a year ago. Additionally, the combined TV panel shipments for the first three quarters of 2015 exceeded 201 million units, resulting in an impressive year-on-year growth of 10.6%.

LG Display (LGD) tops the ranking of combined TV panel shipments for first three quarters of 2015 with a volume of 41.73 million units. According to Hu, LG’s outstanding performance this year is attributed to the pricing of its mainstream products and its broad client base. LGD not only continues to work with its parent company to develop branded TV products, the panel maker also strengthens its relationship with both first- and second-tier Chinese vendors, such as Skyworth. WitsView estimates LGD’s annual shipments for this year may reach 55 million units, up 5.9% year on year.

Innolux shipped a total of 39.06 million units of TV panels during the first three quarters and is temporarily at No. 2. Innolux’s panel shipments expanded in the first half of 2015 owing to its contract with the Mexican government. Its shipments during this year's second half will also be supported by the 39.5-inch panel orders from Samsung Electronics. However, TV panel shipments to Mexico will not be as large as before. Innolux’s total shipments for 2015 is projected to grow 2.3% year on year to 51.3 million units.

Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) trails closely behind Innolux at No. 3 with a total of 38.76 million units of TV panels shipped for the three-quarter period. Due to a cut in orders from Samsung Electronics, SDC will likely lose its top spot in the annual shipment ranking as its total shipments this year are projected to drop 6.6% from 2014 to 51.7 million units.

BOE Technology Group shipped 24.77 million units of TV panels in the three-quarter period and has leapt to the No. 4 spot in the market. With a new Gen-8.5 fab in operation, BOE massively expanded its shipments and has been the leader of the 32-inch segment with over 2 million units shipped every month since May.

At the same time, the panel maker is developing large-size market segments, such as the 48- and 55-inch. BOE might suffer a 3~4% quarterly decline in the fourth quarter due to seasonality, but its total shipments for this year are expected to shoot up around 140% to more than 34 million units. Thus, it is likely to hold the fourth-place position in the annual TV panel shipments ranking, edging out AU Optoelectronics (AUO) and China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT).

AUO’s TV panel shipments during the first three quarters totaled 20.22 million units, down 6.5% year on year. The decline was attributed to the panel maker adjusting its product mix to favor UHD products and the 50-inch and larger segment while not adding new capacity. AUO is projected to ship 26.4 million TV panel units this year, resulting in an annual decline of 8.3%.

CSOT’s second-quarter shipments of 32-inch TV panels suffered a sharp drop because of floor cracks at one of its fabs. Despite shipment recovery in the third quarter, the total volume for the first three quarters was at 17.75 million units. The panel maker has a new Gen-8.5 fab in operation this year, but it is dedicated to 55-inch UHD products. With the new capacity being used for large-size panels and the shipment plunge of the 32-inch segment, CSOT’s annual shipments are estimated to fall by 2.5% to 24 million units.