OLED Emitting Material Market Decreases by 30% Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the OLED (organic light-emitting diode) light-emitting materials market has significantly contracted this year.

According to the 3rd quarter 2020 OLED light-emitting materials Market Track published on the 20th by market research firm UBI Research, the light-emitting materials market in the 2nd quarter was recorded at $230 million. This represents a 30% decrease compared to the previous quarter and a 24% decrease compared to the 2nd quarter of 2019.

The contraction of the light-emitting materials market in the 2nd quarter is analyzed to be mainly due to the impact of COVID-19, which caused a decrease in panel shipments and inventory volume at Samsung Display, the world's largest mobile OLED manufacturer.

Among Samsung Display's 2nd quarter panel performance, shipments to China increased by 27% compared to the 1st quarter, but due to sluggish sales of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S20 series leading to reduced panel production, and the Galaxy Note20 panels, which began mass production from June, being limited to below 200,000 units, the usage of light-emitting materials also decreased accordingly.

Additionally, in the 1st quarter, inventory volume increased due to advance orders from Chinese panel companies concerned about material supply caused by COVID-19, but the operating rate was not high enough to consume the inventory volume, which was another cause of market contraction.

However, the report stated that in the second half of the year, the light-emitting materials market is expected to expand due to increased panel volumes for Apple from Samsung Display and LG Display, as well as the operation of LG Display's Guangzhou line.

Samsung Display and LG Display are expected to supply approximately 80 million and 20 million panels respectively for Apple in 2020, and LG Display's Guangzhou line, which began operation in July, is also expected to contribute to the expansion of light-emitting materials usage.

The light-emitting materials market in 2020 is projected to reach $1.41 billion, a 10% increase compared to 2019. Samsung Display's purchase amount of light-emitting materials is expected to account for more than 50% of the total, followed by LG Display at 20%, and China's BOE at the mid-10% range.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.