Taiwan noses past Korea in LCD output

Taiwan’s monthly production of big liquid-crystal displays has outpaced South Korea’s for the first time, with Taiwan producing 6.86 million units in April to South Korea’s 6.83 million. The data was reported by Display Search, an American market research firm, yesterday. It compared the output of LCDs larger than 10 inches by five major Taiwanese LCD makers ― including AU Optronics Corp. Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. ― and the three major Korean manufacturers, Samsung Electronics Co., LG Philips LCD Co. and BOE Hydis Technology Co Ltd. Taiwanese LCD makers have been expanding their production lines, helping their monthly output jump by 140,000 units in April. In contrast, April’s output at Samsung Electronics dropped by 170,000 units and at BOE Hydis by 25,000 units. Only LG Philips LCD increased its output in April, by approximately 100,000. However, the Korean manufacturers, whose main LCD products are larger and more expensive, still led in revenues, at $1.4 billion to Taiwan’s $1.1 billion. by Yoon Chang-hee, Jung Ha-won