Demi Wong

Production line utilization rate of BOE, CSOT, and HKC will be dropped to 79% in October


According to the latest survey by TrendForce, as the demand for LCD TV panels is expected to slow down in the fourth quarter of 2025, major panel manufacturers such as BOE, CSOT, and HKC plan to implement holiday breaks during the National Day holiday at their key production bases for TV panels.


Based on the current estimation from TrendForce's LCD TV panel production line utilization rate model, the utilization rate in October will decrease by 6 percentage points compared with the version planned by manufacturers in August, dropping to 79%. TrendForce stated that from a supply perspective, the holiday strategy will not only help LCD TV panel makers maintain low inventory levels until late October but also allow them to reduce related operational costs by aligning production adjustments with the National Day holiday period.


Observing the dynamics of panel manufacturers, as BOE, CSOT, and Sharp all plan to arrange a 5-to-7-day vacation for their own 10.5G production lines during the long holiday, the production utilization rate of 10.5G TV panels in October is estimated to be around 74%. Meanwhile, for Gen 8.6 fabs, leading panel maker HKC is expected to implement a 5-day holiday at its key TV panel production lines, such as the Chongqing H1, Chuzhou H2, and Changsha H5 factories. BOE also plans a 5-day break for its Chengdu B19 fab. The utilization rate for Gen 8.6 TV panel production lines is forecast to be approximately 77.5%.


As for Gen 8.5 fabs, the plants currently planning holiday breaks are CSOT's T1 and T2 facilities, with an estimated 5-day holiday period. The utilization rate is projected to decrease by four percentage points compared to the previous forecast, dropping to 81.3%. From the demand perspective, October's demand still finds some support from the stocking momentum for the Double 11 shopping festival. However, calculated based on TV panel demand volume, October's demand shows a month-on-month decline of 4.8% compared to September. Therefore, panel manufacturers have chosen to control production in October.


In addition to cost control, this will also have a certain effect on alleviating the potential supply-demand pressure in the TV market and help maintain a stable trend in TV panel quotations in October.

8 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 0