Coronavirus: TV industry hit by production, demand side pressure
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Editor
| 30 March 2020

In a wide ranging examination of the statuses of key electronics component and downstream industries following the Covid-19 outbreak, global research company TrendForce has revealed the full extent of the danger the outbreak has caused and will likely keep causing the display industry.

The analyst said that the starting point of the new normal for the industry began in February 2020 when China put cities under lockdown, disallowed some stores to open, postponed work resumption schedules and limited transportation, all of which reduced TV set demand in the local market and indirectly caused labour and material shortages in the TV supply chain in China.

The net result for the TV industry since this time said TrendForce was that the industry currently faces pressure on both the production side and demand side. As a consequence TrendForce has reduced its projection of global TV shipments for the first quarter of 2020 to 44.6 million units, down by 8.6% from the pre-COVID-19 prediction of 48.8 million units. It expects a similar drop for Q2 2020, from the pre-pandemic forecast of 47.6 million units to 44.1 million units, a 7.3% decrease.

Drilling deeper, the study found that in Q1 20, China’s Xiaomi’s shipment quantity fell from pre-Covid-19 prediction by 25.9%, and that of fellow Chinese firm Skyworth dropped by 21%. These two brands were hit the hardest by the outbreak. Amid international brands, all suffered slightly in the first quarter of the year and the analyst noted that through the year they will all will eventually see unavoidable declines in shipments.

Looking forward, the analyst saw further weakening the demand for TVs due to the postponement to 2021 of both UEFA EURO 2020 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As a result it has lowered its annual 2020 TV shipment forecast to 205.2 million units, a 5.8% decrease year-on-year. This figure is also 6.7% lower than TrendForce’s pre-pandemic forecast. Moreover, TrendForce warned that with the possibility of the pandemic escalating in North America and emerging Asian regions, it may decrease the TV shipment forecast even further in the future. For the near future, TrenForce said brands whose Europe’s shipment portion surpasses 30% — such as Samsung VD, LGE, Sony (pictured) and Philips — might be next victims of the pandemic.