Samsung to stop producing LCD panels in June

Samsung may stop producing LCDs in June. Insiders report this to the Korea Times. The manufacturer actually wanted to stop LCD production in 2020, but eventually continued due to rising demand during the corona pandemic.

Samsung would be less competitive against Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers, which produce cheaper LCDs, due to falling prices, sources say to the Korea Times. According to the sources, the Display branch of Samsung will therefore stop producing such panels from next month. Samsung Electronics, which uses LCDs for certain televisions, would in the future purchase panels for this from manufacturers such as the Chinese BOE and the Taiwanese AUO. According to the sources, Samsung Display will mainly focus on QD screens and QD OLED panels; the LCD staff will be transferred to those divisions. Samsung has not yet responded to questions from the Korea Times.

Samsung Display already wanted to stop producing LCDs at the end of 2020, the company confirmed earlier. That production stop was later postponed, because the prices of LCD panels rose due to the corona pandemic. Samsung’s LCD production shutdown is now due to take place next month. That is six months earlier than expected, the Korea Times said.

Samsung would have made that decision because LCD prices are falling again. Analyst agency DSCC expects that this decline will continue in the coming months. At the same time, Samsung has been taking steps to accelerate this move away from LCD production for some time. Last year, the company sold one of its major LCD plants to TCL.