Julian Ho, Taipei; Steve Shen

 

ASP of 60-inch LCD TVs stood at US$2,500 globally in February, down 3% from US$2,578 recorded in January, with the ASP of US$1,681 for comparable models available in North America being the lowest among mature markets, according to Digitimes Research.

Meanwhile, ASP of 52- to 55-inch TVs reached US$2,027 in February, leaving a difference of US$473 against the 60-inch models, down from US$910 of a year earlier. But ASP of 65-inch models remained high at US$4,280.

In the Japan market, the ASP of 60-inch TVs dropped sharply to US$2,452 at present, from US$4,042 in 2011 as local vendors have been pushing sales of large-size models as a means to ramp up the utilization rates of their panel plants.

In Taiwan, the increasing popularity of large-size TVs, coupled with price reductions, will help ease the oversupply of panels in the local market. Additionally, the introduction of 39- and 50-inch panels will also help stabilize panel prices in 2012.

Some local vendors in Taiwan have adopted the 50-inch panels from Chimei Innolux (CMI) and will launch 50-inch TVs in June at the earliest, said Digitimes Research.