Sigmaintell explained that January of last year was the low season for shipments to overseas markets, and also coming up on the lunar new year, each manufacturer experienced a reduction in shipments to varying degrees. In contrast, the growth rate in January 2018 was considerably larger; however, after the long New Year's holiday in February, the amount of shipments will naturally decline.

As for shipments in March, Sigmaintell pointed out that it currently looks as though the demand for OEM manufacturing in March will be stable and surpass expectations. However, it will also be necessary to pay attention to the stability of overseas demand as risks continue to rise.

From the different manufacturer's points of view, Foxconn's (Hon Hai) shipments of OEM televisions sets reached 1.75 million units, which was a yearly increase of 167.2% and the second highest amount of shipments amount the OEM manufacturers. This was mainly a result of their client Sharp's sales in the Chinese market and emerging market promotions, which maintained the strength of their shipment numbers. Other clients, such as Sony, also maintained stable shipments with Foxconn shipping out considerably more merchandise than during the previous year.

TVP Technology Limited, who was the former long-term leader in OEM television manufacturing shipped out 1.25 million units in January 2018 as the company with the second largest amounts of shipments and a yearly increase of 3.8%. In January, shipment numbers for TVP's own brand name, Philip's televisions were less than ideal. However, LG's and Sony's OEM order shipments also fell in comparison with last year, which brought about an increase in shipments for TVP in January.

(TR/ Phil Sweeney)