JUNE 28-According to its report, Plasma Display Panels, market-research firm Stanford Resources Inc. (San Jose, CA;an iSuppli company; www.stanfordresources.com.), forecasts the worldwide market for PDP display systems will grow to 6.2 million units valued at $16.4 billion in 2007. The report also shows that the market for PDP modules used in PDP systems will increase from $1.4 billion in 2001 to $10.3 billion in 2007.
Plasma display panels are poised to move from the niche market of business applications to the mass market for consumer televisions, according to the report. "Although PDP televisions now represent a quarter of the PDP system market, that situation will be reversed by 2006, when PDP TVs will account for 77% of units and 70% of system market value," said Kimberly Allen, director of technology and strategic research at Stanford Resources.
Europe and Japan have led the adoption of PDP TVs, and the huge North American market will intensify, too. Allen noted that the immediate task for PDP makers is to slash manufacturing costs, thereby enabling prices to decline to a level acceptable to consumers. Allen said, "PDPs are now becoming reliably mass-producible at reasonable costs."
Most PDPs in the business segment are used in booths at conventions, in high-end conference rooms and boardrooms, or as public information terminals. These will continue to be the key business applications, and other growth areas include financial exchanges and retail/signage applications. "The PDP market is diversifying," Allen said. "Several Korean and Taiwanese producers are entering the market to challenge the established Japanese makers; screens are moving toward both larger and smaller sizes than currently available; and distribution channels are evolving to fit the unique nature of PDPs."
