Analysis of the Current Situation of the LCD Display Module Industry in China: Color Touch Display Products Continue to Grow in the Field of Human-Computer Interaction

Content Overview: From 2014 to 2022, the LCD display module market in China exhibited fluctuating changes. According to statistics, in 2022, the domestic production and sales volume of LCD display modules were approximately 2.93 billion and 3.37 billion units, respectively, representing year-on-year growth rates of 2.8% and 0.6%. In terms of pricing, due to factors such as a significant decline in end-consumer demand, conservative procurement strategies of downstream brand customers, and low-price competition in the industry, the supply and demand of semiconductor display products were imbalanced in 2022. Mainstream product prices continued to decline, with some products experiencing significant price drops. The average market price of LCD display modules in China in 2022 was approximately 72.2 yuan per unit.

Keywords: LCD display module, LCD module, LCD panel, Liquid Crystal Display panel

I. Overview of LCD Display Modules

An LCD display module integrates a liquid crystal display screen with related components such as chips, driver circuits, backlight sources, and connectors, enabling the connection between the input and output ends of display signals. The basic principle of an LCD display module is to control the transmission and blocking of light using liquid crystal technology (liquid crystal is a special organic compound whose optical properties can be changed by applying voltage), thereby generating images.

LCD display modules are mainly classified into two types: color LCD and monochrome LCD. The structure of monochrome LCD display modules varies depending on the product application, with main structures including COG, COB, and COF. Color LCD display modules are composed of polarizing films, TFT glass, backlight sources, integrated chips, and flexible printed circuit boards. Based on different liquid crystal arrangements, TFT LCD display modules can be categorized as TN (Twist Nematic), IPS (In-Plane Switching), and VA (Vertical Alignment).

From the perspective of the production process, the manufacturing process of monochrome LCD screens mainly consists of steps such as patterning, rubbing orientation, frame glue printing, cutting, liquid crystal filling, and polarizing film attachment. The manufacturing process of monochrome LCD display modules mainly includes COG, FOG, SMT, and backlight assembly, with relatively lower manufacturing complexity compared to LCD screens. Compared to monochrome LCD display modules, the biggest difference in color LCD display modules is the replacement of ITO glass with TFT glass, with relatively limited differences in other structures. TFT screens are a critical step in the production of color LCD display products, requiring high technical difficulty and capital investment, and most enterprises adopt outsourcing for this step.

II. LCD Display Module Industry Chain

The LCD display module manufacturing industry chain can be divided into upstream, midstream, and downstream based on raw materials, integration, and application of products. The upstream primarily involves the manufacturing of key materials or important components for LCD display modules, including LCD panels, conductive glass, polarizing films, backlight sources, and driver ICs. The midstream integrates raw materials into different types of display modules, mainly processing TFT LCD panels of various sizes into TFT display modules (TFT-LCM) according to customized customer needs, with primary applications in mobile phones and tablets. The downstream encompasses diverse consumer electronics products such as mobile phones, digital products, home appliances, etc., which are highly competitive, exhibit significant brand effects, and undergo rapid market changes.

In today's information era, the role of information display technology in people's social activities and daily lives is increasingly significant. Eighty percent of human information acquisition comes from vision, and the interaction between various information system terminals and humans needs to be realized through information display. The panel industry has become the leader of the photoelectric industry, second only to the microelectronics industry in the information industry. From the perspective of the LCD display panel market, in 2022, the production volume of the LCD display panel industry in China was 156.5 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 2.2%.

III. Analysis of the Current Situation of the LCD Display Module Industry

In recent years, due to weak demand, decreasing average prices, and the upgrading of display technology, the global LCD display module market size has declined. Data shows that in 2022, the global LCD display module industry market size was approximately $83.32 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.9%. With the密集投放 of new display panel production lines in mainland China, the global LCD display panel market share has continuously shifted to mainland China, maintaining a high growth trend. Currently, the combined market share of LCD display modules in mainland China and Taiwan exceeds 65%, followed by the Korean market with a share of about 26%.

In terms of the domestic LCD display module industry market size, statistics show that in 2022, the market size of the domestic LCD display module industry was 243.15 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3%. In terms of segmentation, the market share of large-size LCD display modules has continued to decline in recent years, while that of small- and medium-size modules has increased. In 2022, the market share of large-size LCD display modules in China was 66.7%, and that of small- and medium-size LCD display modules was 33.3%.

Regarding domestic market supply and demand, from 2014 to 2022, the LCD display module market in China exhibited fluctuating changes. Statistics show that in 2022, the production and sales volume of the domestic LCD display module market were approximately 2.93 billion and 3.37 billion units, respectively, representing year-on-year growth rates of 2.8% and 0.6%. In terms of pricing, due to factors such as a significant decline in end-consumer demand, conservative procurement strategies of downstream brand customers, and low-price competition in the industry, the supply and demand of semiconductor display products were imbalanced in 2022, leading to continuous declines in mainstream product prices, with some products experiencing significant price drops. The average market price of LCD display modules in China in 2022 was approximately 72.2 yuan per unit.

IV. Future Development Trends of the LCD Display Module Industry

Benefiting from strong support from national policies and the continuous growth of downstream market demand, China's touch display industry has achieved significant development and progress in recent years. Currently, China has become one of the world's largest manufacturers of LCD screens, with a complete and mature industry chain. Most products and main production processes can be completed domestically. The complete industry chain has greatly enhanced the comprehensive competitiveness of industry manufacturers. The upstream raw material production supply chain is basically complete, increasingly mature, and highly competitive, with gradually decreasing raw material costs. Manufacturers of supporting process equipment have become increasingly experienced and technologically mature, possessing the ability to provide main core equipment and warranty services during the production process of the touch display industry. At the same time, China's touch display technology innovation capability has gradually improved, industrial clusters have begun to form, and global influence has continuously increased. The core competitiveness of China's touch display industry has gradually increased with the steady improvement of production capacity and technical level. The overall scale of the industry has continued to expand, self-sufficiency rates have risen rapidly, technical levels have reached international advanced levels, and a good brand reputation has been established in the international market. The industry development has entered a virtuous cycle. Future industry development trends include:

1. Monochrome LCD Display: Monochrome LCD display products have high reliability, low power consumption and cost, and high customization. They have significant performance advantages, especially in applications with complex and harsh environments, high endurance requirements, and limited display content, and are therefore widely used in automotive electronics, medical products, industrial instrumentation, and other fields. With the trend of digitization and intelligence, monochrome LCD display products will continue to expand into broader fields, including intelligent driving (automotive radars, streaming media rearview mirrors, smart sun visors, smart windows, etc.), smart retail, smart water, electricity, and gas meters, and ETC.

2. Color LCD Display: Color LCD display products can achieve color display with rich content. Initially used in consumer electronics such as mobile phones and tablets, they have been widely applied in automotive navigation, the Internet of Things, smart living, high-end medical equipment, and other fields with the development of capacitive touchscreen technology. Touch display is the most direct, convenient, and effective way of human-computer interaction to date. With the development and promotion of technologies such as 5G, touch display products will be used in more fields. In recent years, the mainstream development direction of touch display products has been towards high-definition display quality, high brightness, large size, wide viewing angle, and thinness, continuously breaking through traditional technical bottlenecks. Coupled with quantum dot technology, MINI-LED technology, and increasingly mature display experience and process levels, color touch display products will continue to grow in the field of human-computer interaction for a considerable period in the future.