This Year’s Display Market Growth... OLED Share Expands to 36.6%

Display Industry Association Statistical Report Announcement

Last year, the global display market revenue declined due to demand contraction and other factors, but it is expected to recover this year. Last year, the revenue of South Korea's display industry decreased by 13.4% compared to the previous year, and this year, the domestic industry anticipates an expansion of business opportunities driven by the growth of the OLED market.

The Korea Display Industry Association released the 'Key Statistics of the Display Industry (Q1 2024)' report on the 23rd, containing this information. The report includes statistical data related to the display industry such as global market size, market share, and import/export figures, utilizing databases from market research firm Omdia, Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and Statistics Korea (KOSIS).

Last year, the global display market recorded a size of $117.9 billion, down 3.9% from the previous year due to demand contraction amid a high interest rate environment. Demand continued for high value-added products such as mobile devices, and the OLED market grew by 0.7% year-on-year to $42.4 billion. LCD, however, declined by 6.5% to $74.4 billion due to continued oversupply caused by decreased demand and falling panel prices.

This year, the market size is expected to increase by 13% from last year to $133.3 billion, driven by the arrival of the IT product cycle following the COVID-19 pandemic. The OLED market is expanding its applications from mobile and TV to tablets and automotive sectors, potentially reaching an all-time high market share of 36.6% within the overall display market. This is a positive market signal for domestic companies that hold production and technological superiority in OLED.

Last year, the domestic display industry's revenue was $38.9 billion, down 13.4% from the previous year. This was influenced by global economic slowdown, increased IT demand uncertainty due to Middle East conflicts, the reduction of LCD business by domestic companies, and intensified competition from Chinese companies entering the OLED market. Consequently, South Korea's market share, which ranked second in the global display market last year, decreased by 3.5 percentage points to 33.4% compared to the previous year.

On the other hand, China's display industry recorded $55.8 billion in revenue last year, an 8.3% increase year-on-year, securing the top position in the global display market. After surpassing South Korea for the first time in 2021, China has held the crown for three consecutive years. The report attributes this to the strong patriotic consumption trend known as 'Guochao' in China and the Chinese government's encouragement of local smartphone manufacturers to use domestically produced components, which reduced the market share of domestic (Korean) companies.

In the global OLED market last year, South Korea held a 74.2% market share, while China accounted for 25.1%. Particularly in the large OLED market, South Korea's share was 96.1%. In the small-to-medium OLED market, which is mobile-centric, South Korea held 71.6% and China 27.6%. The production capacity (CAPA) gap between South Korea and China in OLED manufacturing widened to 15.108 million square meters last year. Notably, domestic companies are expanding their business into medium and large-sized OLED sectors.

Regarding the LCD market, last year's country-wise market shares were China 60.8%, Taiwan 26.2%, South Korea 10.1%, and Japan 2.3%. Only China's share showed an increase compared to the previous year, demonstrating its growing dominance in the LCD market.

This year, demand for low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panels, used in premium smartphone products, is expected to rise. For OLED, new technologies are being applied in IT products and automotive electronics, and in the TV sector, the price gap between OLED and LCD panels is narrowing, which could bring positive effects from sports events such as the Olympics.

In the display equipment sector, panel companies are investing in facilities to respond to the blooming medium and large OLED market and the arrival of the IT demand cycle. As a result, the market size is projected to increase by 110% from last year to reach $6.3 billion this year.