LCD Prices on the Rise

A Digitimes article reports that LCD prices are on the rise...

Prices of 15-inch panels were originally not expected to reach US$250 until the fourth quarter this year. Many panel makers have said that 15-inch panel prices will increase by another US$5-10 in April.

It seems LCD manufacturers are making up for previous losses... however, panel manufactering is current expanding which may lead to further price drops in the future.


Related Article: LCD Prices/Supply

although these price rises (which arent that much at all) seem bad for now, it will be good for the future... as in the LCD makers will be able to make more money now, then use that money to make more, and eventually prices will fall dramatically.

Think of the future.

17-inches @ $350? WOW.


:D :D :D :D

What does that mean for the new imac?

Originally posted by arn

Prices of 15-inch panels were originally not expected to reach US$250 until the fourth quarter this year. Many panel makers have said that 15-inch panel prices will increase by another US$5-10 in April.

That's only 2% - 4%, not much more than a burb in the big picture.

Originally posted by dukestreet


That's only 2% - 4%, not much more than a burb in the big picture.

That's alot, if Apple's margins on the new iMac are as low as they have hinted at. 2-4% on a margin of say 10% could hurt their profits alot. Let's hope that Apple negotiated a long term mass production deal with their LCD suppliers...

But then factor in how much does the price of the monitor contribute to the overall price of the iMac. 2% - 4% becomes anywhere between .28% to .77% depending on the increase and the model purchased.

Figure how many models they're going to sell when the new price is in effect, multiply that by the price dif and you get peanuts.

10,000 units * 5 to 10 = $50,000 to $100,000.

Originally posted by dukestreet
But then factor in how much does the price of the monitor contribute to the overall price of the iMac. 2% - 4% becomes anywhere between .28% to .77% depending on the increase and the model purchased.

Figure how many models they're going to sell when the new price is in effect, multiply that by the price dif and you get peanuts.

10,000 units * 5 to 10 = $50,000 to $100,000.

Sorry dukestreet, but I think you're an order of magnitude out in your calculations.

The top of the range iMac costs $1800.
Assume a margin of 10% (Nobody knows for sure, my guess is it's more than this, but it makes the calculation easier)
That gives a margin of $180 per iMac.
Now $5 to $10 extra to pay for a costlier LCD = 2.7 to 5.5% of this margin.
(I doesn't matter what proportion the LCD costs contribute to the total cost, if the overall price stays the same).

Also I thought Apple plans to eventually ship 200,000 units per quarter.
200,000 units * $5-10 = $ 1 to 2 million. That's not to be sniffed at, although I admit it's still peanuts if you have cash reserves of $4 billion...

Anyway, my guess and hope is that this is irrelevant, as I'm sure Apple would have negotiated a long term deal with their LCD supplier.

If they ship 200,000, its going to be while. The price will change more than once on LCDs by the time they ship their 200,000 iMac, is my guess. Besides, what about the other components, and their price changes. It all evens out, mostly. All I was trying to say was that in the short term, such a small increase would be negligible. If the price stays up and maybe even goes higher, well, that's a different matter altogether.

Its all speculation at that point.

As I understand it, this is the main reason for the shortage of LCD iMac's. The display panels simply aren't there...

The issue is complicated (in a good way, I guess) by the fact that instead of using a run-of-the-mill 15" panel, Apple is using an unusually high-quality display in the LCD iMac that results in lower yeilds. I can personally attest to the fact that the iMac LCD is the brightest, clearest 15" panel I have yet to see.

The overall problem in the industry is the manufacture of the "Motherglass", the main glass that is used in the manufacturer of LCD's. I believe one major plant had to close due to a chemical spill, fire, or somesuch other disaster.

But, then again, we can't forget that popularity breeds greed, so it will be interesting to see where this all goes.

The LCD manufacturers have to be careful. If they monkey with the market too much, they may find themselves trampled over by other more cost-effective displays and manufacturing techniques that have been on the drawing board for a while. They may end up missing their own boat if they piss off the consumer too much.

TL

Originally posted by whfsdude
What does that mean for the new imac?

I assure you Steve would NEVER sell this machine at a 10% margin :)

TL

Originally posted by StuPid QPid


That's alot, if Apple's margins on the new iMac are as low as they have hinted at. 2-4% on a margin of say 10% could hurt their profits alot. Let's hope that Apple negotiated a long term mass production deal with their LCD suppliers...