Shipments of small- to medium-size panels will be stronger than expected in the weak season in the fourth quarter of 2010 with Chimei Innolux (CMI) and Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) setting new shipment records in November.

CMI shipped 45.67 million units in November, increasing over 20%. CPT's shipments also increased over 20% sequentially to 38.12 million units for the month.

Due to increasing shipments for tablet PCs and smartphones, as well as panel makers transfer of older generation production lines to produce small- to medium-size panels, CMI and CPT have been setting new shipment records in the segment for months. CMI is the leading maker for small- to medium-size panels worldwide, and CPT is following closely in second place.

AUO's shipments growth is not as significant that of CMI or CPT as AUO has focused its 3.5G and 4G plants on high-end mobile device panels and touch panels. AUO shipped around 18.04 million small- to medium-size panels in November, up 1.5% sequentially.

CMI's small- to medium-size panel production lines include the 3.5G plant from TPO Displays, 4.5G one from Innolux Display, and 3.5G, 4.5G and 5G plants from Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO). Although some capacity at the 4G and 4.5G facilities has been transfered to touch panel production, overall capacity for small- to medium-size panels remains high. Due to weakening demand for IT (monitor and notebook) panels, CMI transfered a significant amount of 5G capacity to produce small- to medium-size panels, and boosted its shipments from 32-37 million units per month to over 45 million units in November.

In addition to its two 4.5G plants and one 4G plant, CPT is also using some capacity at its 6G facility to produce medium-size panels in order to boost utilization rates. Furthermore, CPT is also using some of the capacity from one of its 4.5G plants to produce touch sensors.