In its latest December panel price forecast, TrendForce notes that several factors - memory shortages and price hikes, brand pre-stocking, and fewer working days due to Lunar New Year - are causing different trends across product categories. Overall:
- TV panels: Demand relatively solid, with signs of prices bottoming out and a possible rebound on the horizon.
- Monitor panels: Mostly flat, in a stabilization phase.
- Notebook panels: Still under downward pressure due to higher uncertainty in 2026 demand.
Fan Boyu pointed out that late-December TV panel demand is holding steady. With panel makers keeping utilization rates fairly high, prices have good support. Prices for 32- to 65-inch TV panels are expected to stay flat across the board in December.
However, brands see current prices as the floor. They're worried the memory issue might hit TVs harder in 2026, so they're actively bringing forward some next-quarter demand. Plus, with fewer working days in February due to Chinese New Year, orders will likely shift forward to January and backward to March. TrendForce believes that if demand stays decent in January, TV panel prices could be the first to turn upward.
For monitor panels, although overall Q4 demand has been soft, a few clients have increased orders. Mainstream monitor panels have been losing money for a long time, so panel makers refuse to cut prices further, and brands are fine with stability. TrendForce expects most monitor panel prices to remain flat in December. The emerging upward momentum in TV panels is also helping lift sentiment for monitors, and panel makers are starting to talk about possible price increases - but it will ultimately depend on real demand and negotiations.
On the notebook side, December demand is starting to reflect the impact of memory shortages and sharp price rises. Some brands are rushing shipments of mid-to-low-end models before full-system price hikes hit next year, temporarily boosting panel orders. But with 2026 demand looking more uncertain due to memory costs, panel makers are becoming more flexible on pricing to prioritize keeping customer relationships. As a result, TrendForce forecasts December notebook panel prices as follows: TN types flat, IPS types down $0.1–0.2. Looking into Q1 2026, with demand potentially even weaker, notebook panel prices are likely to face continued downward pressure.
In short: The display industry is still in a phase of structural adjustment. The TV segment, supported by pre-stocking and supply discipline, has a good chance of seeing the first small price increase as early as January 2026 - which could give the whole industry a much-needed boost. The IT side (monitors + notebooks) remains cautious due to memory cost pressures. Let me know if you want details on specific sizes or brands!
