Weakness in the flat-panel TV market and the displays they're built around imply that the usual holiday discounts for TVs may be even fatter this year.
On Monday, IHS reported that sales of flat-panel displays had fallen compared to year-ago numbers for the second month in a row. And on Friday, IHS also said that the LCD TV panel market declined for the first time ever.
Put the two reports together together, and you'd first conclude that short-term sales of existing LCD TVs will suffer. But the TV manufacturers also appear to be either cutting back on panel purchases, meaning that they either will cut back on manufacturing in an attempt to raise prices. But with last-ditch volumes expected to spike in the holiday sales rush, history would suggest that manufacturers will slash margins to the bone in an attempt to drive sales and market share.
Specifically, sales of LCD TVs, which make up the vast majority of all TV sales, posted a 5.7 percent year-on-year decline to 14.1 million units. That's a repeat of a June trend, IHS reported. Sales of the panels themselves, which make up most of the manufacturing cost of a flat-panel television, fell slightly from 58.8 million units during the second quarter to 58.0 million in the third.
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