On June 1, market research agency Omdia released a report that panel manufacturers have made very aggressive business plans for notebook display panels of up to 316 million units at the beginning of 2022 to meet the demand of major notebook brands with a total of 267 million units sold. Every notebook OEM/ODM has similarly increased their notebook production schedule for 2022.
However, after February 2022, many changes in the notebook market led notebook brands to decide to reduce their annual business plans and inform panel manufacturers to accept the brand revisions.
One is that notebook inventory doubled in 2022 compared to 2020 and 2021, with all sources slashing orders for laptops.
Another is that the war with Ukraine has pushed up the cost of metals, fuel and grain, causing inflation across all commodity sectors around the world as consumers hoard food and groceries rather than buy laptops.
The third is affected by the epidemic, notebook inventory and transportation costs are rising. The lockdown in Shanghai and Suzhou severely affected the raw materials of OEM/ODM and the delivery of products such as notebooks, and the inventory of all parties increased. In addition, many carriers have recently raised shipping prices by six to seven times.
Omdia expects all notebook brands to scale back their panel purchases in the second quarter of 2022, with purchases in the third quarter remaining subdued.
