Touch Panel Market to Take Off Next Year: DisplaySearch

The touch panel market has been heating up for a certain period, but the business should really take off in 2010 and last to at least 2015.

According to DisplaySearch, a leading provider of market intelligence on displays and related technology, the touch-panel market is on track to grow to $3.3 billion and 660 million units by 2015.

The market intelligence firm said that about 468 million touch panels were shipped in 2008 and the volume is expected to grow to reach 483 million this year with a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 3.3 percent. The touch-panel revenue was $3.64 billion in 2008 and is expected to grow 0.5 percent YoY this year to $3.66 billion.

The touch-panel business, however, is expected to make a big leap from 2010 due to the increasing adoption and strong demands from cellphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), notebook PCs and LCD monitor sectors.

DisplaySearch deemed that from 2010 the touch-panel market would enjoy a double-digit growth for years, while many industry insiders said that the iPhone has successfully triggered a wave in which touch control is a necessary human-machine interface. Under such environment, more and more thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel makers and color-filter suppliers have devoted or would actively diversify into the business and rapidly ramp up touch-panel production and lower product cost.

DisplaySearch forecast that about 605 million touch panels would be shipped in 2010 and the volume would increase to 739 million in 2011, with YoY growth of 25.2 and 22.1 percent, respectively. The market revenue is estimated to reach $4.45 billion (up 21.6 percent YoY) and $5.32 billion (up 19.5 percent), respectively.

Source: CENS