DisplaySearch reports 2011 WW TV shipments are down after 6 consecutive years of growth-- slipping by -0.3% Y-o-Y to 247.7M units, as weak LCD TV growth fails to offset declines in plasma and CRT shipments.
LCD TV shipments for 2011 reach 205M units with just 7% growth, a far cry from the double-digit growth of previous years. Meanwhile 2011 plasma shipments are down by -7% (the biggest decline yet according to DisplaySearch) totalling 17.2M units, and CRT shipments fall by -34% Y-o-Y.
“The causes of slow demand in 2011 were complex, and although LCD TV showed growth, results were well below industry expectations,” the analyst says. For instance excessive inventory levels in early 2011 caused low shipments for both European and US markets.
Global shipments in Q4 2011 see a -4% Y-o-Y decline, reaching 74.2M units-- with the most pronounced decline in units being in W. Europe and Japan. LCD TVs make 86.5% of Q4 2011 WW shipments (up from 83% in Q3), with larger screen sizes (40" and over) seeing the most aggressive growth.
On the other hand plasma TVs fall by -8% Y-o-Y in Q4, with the decline demand coinciding with a shift to larger screen sizes and greater profitability.
3DTV is seeing some success in Europe, accounting for 21% of W. European 2011 TV shipments.
When it comes to vendors, Samsung is on top (with 26.3% Q4 2011 market share) in both LCD and plasma, as well as 3DTV and LED shipments-- the first vendor to beat Panasonic in revenue market share. Following are LGE (13.4% share) and Sony (10%).
Go DisplaySearch Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report 2011
