LCDs took 30 per cent of PC monitor sales in Q4 2002

Price cuts of up to 30 per cent drove LCD monitor shipments up to 9.9 million units during Q4 2002 - a 54 per cent increase on the same period in 2001 and 30 per cent up on the previous quarter, DisplaySearch research reveals.

Cheaper displays led consumers to chuck out their bulky CRT monitors in favour of slimline LCD screens, the market research company reckons. As yet, relatively few consumer-oriented machines ship with bundled LCDs, suggesting that the surge in sales was indeed driven by buyers replacing CRTs.

Price cutting was the motor behind the sales. Panels of 15in or more were 11-30 per cent less expensive at the end of the quarter than they were at the start. CRT prices fell too, but by only five per cent on average, compared to a nine per cent average decline in LCD panel prices.

That helped LCD panels take 30 per cent of the monitor market in Q4 2002, up from 26 per cent in Q3. The market for all monitor types rose 15 per cent to 117 million units in 2002, says DisplaySearch, yielding revenue of $36 billion. LCD revenue rose 55 per cent. ®

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