According to the latest “Quarterly FPD Supply/Demand and Capital Spending Report” by NPD DisplaySearch, the vast majority of spending on flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing equipment to expand production capacity is occurring in China, and the trend is likely to continue. China’s spending on FPD equipment was only 22% of global spending in 2010, but it has grown consistently since then and is expected to exceed 70% in 2014 and 2015. China’s FPD capacity has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51% over the past five years. In 2010, China accounted for less than 4% of capacity. However, the expansion of large LCD fabrication plants is forecast to push China’s share of global capacity to more than 21% in 2015. Until recently, almost all FPD equipment spending focused on a-Si TFT (amorphous silicon thin film transistor) LCD fabrication plants, mainly for monitor and television production. Now, Chinese FPD makers are rapidly attempting to diversify into the production of high-end, high-growth LTPS (low temperature polysilicon) TFT LCDs and AMOLEDs for smartphone and tablet PC applications.
