China Touch Panel Tracker, 1Q14 DIGITIMES Research China touch panel industry Research Analyst: Jason Yang
Introduction From the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, China touch panel makers largest growth will be in the notebook and 11-inch and above size tablet segments, with makers such as O- Film Technology and Mutto Technology focusing on metal mesh thin-film technology. The technology coupled with the makers low-cost advantages gave the China makers 110.7% onquarter shipment growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 and will give them another 13.4% on-quarter growth in the first quarter of 2014 despite the first quarter traditionally being a slow shipment period in the market, according to Digitimes Research. In terms of touch panels used in handset applications, the makers overall shipment proportion of thin-film type panels will rise to 71.1% in the first quarter of 2014 due to demand for the technology in entry-level and mid-range handsets from vendors such as Samsung Electronics, Huawei Device, Content Lenovo only and for Xiaomi. DIGITIMES O-Film Research is expected to Data see some Tracker of the customers biggest increases in shipments for the technology during the quarter following shipments of 30 million units in the fourth quarter of 2013. Regarding tablet touch panel applications for sizes below 11-inch, China makers are seeing orders largely from Samsung and Lenovo and saw 24.3% shipment growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 as a result. Samsung and Lenovo are continuing to put in orders throughout the first quarter of 2014 while at the same time the China makers are seeing decreased demand for glass-type touch panels, causing the makers shipments of thin-film touch panels to exceed glass-type ones for the first time ever. O-Film is expected to see the biggest growth for tablet thin-film touch panel shipments during the first quarter of 2014 at 8.57 million units or 40.1% on-quarter growth, said Digitimes Research. 1
China makers touch panel shipments by application, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) 160,000 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 4Q'12 1Q'13 2Q'13 3Q'13 4Q'13 (e) 1Q'14 (f) Total 128,040 138,542 132,998 140,205 148,808 141,406 Notebook 0 Content only 0 for DIGITIMES 188 Research 976 2,057 Data Tracker 2,332 Tablet 9,505 27,239 23,934 customers 30,990 38,531 35,043 Handset 118,535 111,304 108,876 108,238 108,221 104,031 2
China makers touch panel shipments by application, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) As of the fourth quarter of 2013, 25.9% of China makers shipments were for tablet applications while handset applications dropped to 72.7% following increased orders from Samsung and Lenovo for tablet touch panels. In the first Content quarter only of 2013, for DIGITIMES China makers Research handset Data and tablet Tracker touch customers panel shipments were down due to the quarter traditionally being a slow shipment period while notebook touch panel shipments on the other hand were up 13.4% as the makers increased production of metal mesh touch panels and offered price competitiveness for their customers. 3
China handset touch panel shipments, by maker, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 4Q'12 1Q'13 2Q'13 3Q'13 4Q'13 (e) 1Q'14 (f) Total 118,535 111,304 108,876 108,238 108,221 104,031 Other 70,115 64,809 56,565 48,178 45,785 42,601 Mutto 7,382 6,942 7,883 6,690 5,795 5,289 Content only for DIGITIMES Research Data Tracker Top Touch 2,074 4,084 5,420 5,549 6,479 7,657 customers EELY 13,456 11,623 9,239 7,941 6,867 7,892 Truly 11,823 7,550 9,900 13,820 13,213 12,767 O-film 13,685 16,294 19,869 26,059 30,082 27,824 4
China handset touch panel shipments, by vendor, 4Q12-1Q14 Following handset touch panel reserve adjustments coupled with new demand for smartphones from vendors such as Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi, China makers such as O-Film and Top Touch Electronics saw some of the biggest handset touch panel shipment increases in the fourth quarter of 2013, with O-Film seeing more than 30 million units. EELY meanwhile did not have enough production capacity to meet demand during the quarter and allocated most production to Samsung for tablet applications. This caused the company s handset touch panel shipments to drop 13.5% on quarter Content only for DIGITIMES Research Data Tracker customers during fourth-quarter 2013. Most makers saw decreased shipments in the first quarter of 2014. However, Top Touch managed to avoid decreases due to orders from Lenovo for touch panels used in entry-level smartphones while EELY received orders from Samsung for use in entry-level to mid-range units. Other makers saw their shipments drop due to white-box vendors putting in less orders as a result of increased competition from brand vendors. 5
China handset touch panel shipments, by technology, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 4Q'13 4Q'12 1Q'13 2Q'13 3Q'13 1Q'14 (f) (e) Total 118,535 111,304 108,876 108,238 108,221 104,031 Resistive 31,368Content 21,556 only for 14,227 DIGITIMES 15,567Research 10,378Data 8,302 Tracker Glass 26,310 23,729 22,858 customers 20,820 22,730 21,764 Thin film 60,857 66,018 71,791 71,851 75,113 73,965 6
China handset touch panel shipments, by technology, 4Q12-1Q14 China makers thin-film touch panel shipments grew 69.4% in the third quarter of 2013 as Samsung put in orders for panels used in entry-level to mid-range smartphones and as China vendors such as Huawei, Lenovo and Coolpad put in orders to meet year-end demand. China Content makers only shipments for DIGITIMES of projected Research Data touch Tracker panels customers dropped only slightly as demand for the technology remained steady from Lenovo and Huawei remained steady despite drop in orders from white-box vendors. 7
China touch panel shipments for small tablets (smaller than 11-inches), by maker, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 4Q'12 1Q'13 2Q'13 3Q'13 4Q'13 (e) 1Q'14 (f) Total 9,505 27,239 23,934 30,990 38,531 35,043 Other 4,977 20,562 15,347 20,555 22,779 18,655 DPT 3,064Content 2,235 only for DIGITIMES 1,855 2,551 Research 2,810 Data Tracker 2,388 EELY 1,133 2,813 3,166 customers 5,801 6,821 5,427 O-film 330 1,628 3,566 2,083 6,121 8,573 8
China touch panel shipments for small tablets (smaller than 11-inches), by maker, 4Q12-1Q14 Because the supply chains for tablet panels sized 11-inch and above are mostly the same as the ones for notebook touch panels, Digitimes Research calculates the two segments together. In the first quarter of 2014, O-Film will surpass both EELY and Top Touch in tablet touch panel shipments due to orders from Samsung for 7- to 8-inch metal mesh panels in Content addition only to steady for DIGITIMES orders from Research Lenovo. Data Tracker customers Many panel shipments in China come from smaller-size firms that ship less than one million units a quarter. White-box maker DPT and other white-box makers shipments will drop 15% and 18.1%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2014 as demand for white-box tablets decreases. 9
China touch panel shipments for small tablets (smaller than 11-inches), by technology, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 4Q'12 1Q'13 2Q'13 3Q'13 4Q'13 (e) 1Q'14 (f) Total 9,505 27,239 23,934 30,990 38,531 35,043 Resistive 402 Content 559only for DIGITIMES 337 568 Research 504 Data Tracker 415 Glass 6,493 20,674 13,338customers 19,303 21,445 16,820 Thin film 2,610 6,006 10,258 11,119 16,582 17,808 10
China touch panel shipments for small tablets (smaller than 11-inches), by technology, 4Q12-1Q14 China makers are seeing less demand for resistive touch panel technology used in tablet applications, largely due to price differences. However, there are some niches for the technology, but will only make up 1-2% of China makers overall shipments. Content only for DIGITIMES Research Data Tracker customers Because Samsung and Lenovo were putting in strong orders for tablets from second-half 2013 throughout first-quarter 2014, while demand for whitebox tablets was on the decline, China makers saw their shipments of thinfilm touch panels exceed those for glass-type units. 11
China touch panel shipments for large tablets (11- inch and above), by maker, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 2Q'13 3Q'13 4Q'13 (e) 1Q'14 (f) Total 188 976 2,057 2,332 Other 0 125 198 99 Laibo 12Content only for 16DIGITIMES Research 22 Data Tracker 13 Mutto 45 207 customers 319 291 O-Film 132 628 1,518 1,930 12
China touch panel shipments for large tablets (11-inch and above), by maker, 4Q12-1Q14 O-Film has been pro-active in developing metal mesh touch panels. Most of the panels are going to Lenovo and Samsung for 11.6- and 12.2-inch tablet panels. Mutto Content is also only mass for DIGITIMES producing Research metal Data mesh Tracker touch customers panels, with shipments going mostly to Acer and HP. Laibao meanwhile is producing OGS touch panels for Toshiba and Asus, but has limited shipments. 13
China touch panel shipments for large tablets (11-inch and above), by technology, 4Q12-1Q14 (k units) 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 2Q'13 3Q'13 4Q'13 (e) 1Q'14 (f) Total 188 976 2,057 2,332 Glass 12 Content only for 79 DIGITIMES Research 121 Data Tracker 62 customers Thin film 177 898 1,936 2,270 14
China touch panel shipments for large tablets (11-inch and above), by technology, 4Q12-1Q14 O-Film and Mutto are both mass-producing metal mesh touch panel technology, with shipments also going to notebook customers such as Lenovo in addition to international-based ones. Additionally, after Token merged with DPT Touch it not only Content only for DIGITIMES Research Data Tracker customers had access to OGS touch panels but G1F technology as well, supplying mostly China-based notebook vendors. In fourth-quarter 2013, China makers shipments for touch panels used in notebook applications grew 115.7% and will grow another 17.3% in first-quarter 2014. 15