In 2019, the LCD display industry experienced operating losses widespread, and the prices of mainstream size panels fell below the cash costs of manufacturers in South Korea and Taiwan. Under the pressure of sustained losses and more losses, panel Factory in South Korea and Taiwan took the lead in adjusting production capacity. Samsung Display SDC, Huaying CPT, SDC, and LGD have gradually withdrawn from LCD production capacity, and Chinese LCD panel manufacturers have ended their LCD production expansion, such as BOE, Shenzhen Tianma, and Huaxing Optoelectronics.

There are three factors for the price increase of mobile phone LCD display panels in 2020: The first is that the LCD display supply chain is affected by the COVID-19, which is about February to April. The second is for LCD panel manufacturers to expand OLED production capacity and reduce LCD panel production capacity in 2019. The third is the continuation of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong, affecting Taiwan's LCD display driver IC to enter China, and a large number of display IC shipments are stranded in Hong Kong. The mobile phone LCD display shortage and price increasing will continue to 2021.

Mobile phone LCD assembly screen suppliers have been Decreased

Affected by COVID-19, the upstream and downstream labor-intensive module factories are under-started, which limits the supply of panels. This has caused a considerable impact on the panel industry with complex industrial chain links, especially traders and small LCD assembly manufacturers. In an environment of tight LCD supply and demand, the number of suppliers of mobile phone LCD screens has dropped sharply, which is also the reason for the price increase of LCD screens from February to March 2020.

The low models of LCD screens for iPhone are out of stock

LCD screens for low-end iPhone models are out of stock, such as iPhone 6s, iPhone 7G, etc. When LCD display driver ICs are out of stock, most of the driver ICs are used to manufacture repair screens for iPhone X models and above. The low price and low profit iPhone LCD model was abandoned by many mobile phone screen manufacturers. ZY LCD screen is one of the few manufacturers in the mobile phone repair industry that retains a full range of iPhone LCD production lines.

LCD display raw material prices increasing

The prices of display driver IC and LCD panels are rising, as are the prices of mobile phone LCD assemblies. The suspension of some overseas shipping in Hong Kong has prevented the goods from arriving in Hong Kong smoothly. The screen driver IC that arrived in Hong Kong in the second quarter of 2020 are temporarily stranded in Hong Kong. At present, the display driver IC used by the mobile phone LCD screen assembly manufacturers in China come from stocks in the Chinese IC market. The smaller the number of driver ICs in stock, the higher the price.

Since July 2020, the price of LCD replacement screens for Apple mobile phones has continued to rise, and the prices have been rising almost every week. Most iPhone LCD wholesalers have begun to stock up. The LCD display price increase is not a cyclical increase. The supply chain of LCD panel makers has begun to stabilize, and the shortage of LCD display driver ICs has become the norm in the second half of the year. Currently, the iPhone Incell LCD low-end models have been out of supply, and only a few LCD screen assembly manufacturers in China have stocks. HWY's ZY Incell LCD, ZY COF LCD and ZY Vivid LCD also have a small amount of stock, which are mainly supplied to cooperative distributors, old customers and high-quality new customers. The shortage of raw materials for LCD screen assembly has led to an insufficient supply of LCD replacement screen capacity in the mobile phone repair industry.