LG Display notebook panel shipments drop almost 1 million units in April, say sources

LG Display (LGD) saw its notebook panel shipments drop by almost one million units to 4.2 million in April, as clients canceled orders amid weakening demand from Europe, which accounts for about 30% of the global notebook market, according to sources with Taiwan-based TFT-LCD panel makers.

LGD, the top supplier in the segment, shipped about 5.1 million notebook panels in March, compared to four million units from Samsung Electronics, three million units from AU Optronics (AUO) and 1.8 million units from Chimei Innolux (CMI), the sources noted.

CMI's notebook panel shipments also dropped to 1.6 million units in April, while shipments of Samsung and AUO remained flat, the sources said.

But LGD's shipments of 9.7-inch panels for the Apple iPad rose significantly in April to over 700,000 units, up from 470,000 units in March, and 300,000 units in February, the sources said.

Samsung also started shipping iPad panels in April, with shipments reaching 5,000 units, the sources added.

Top-4 TFT-LCD makers' notebook panel shipments, March-April 2010 (m units)
	March	April	M/M
LG Display	5.1	4.2	(17.65%)
Samsung	4	4	-
AUO	3	3	-
CMI	1.8	1.6	(11.11%)