PALO ALTO – The LCD manufacturing equipment market topped $1.5 billion in 2006 and will reach $2.3 billion by 2013, Frost & Sullivan’s World LCD Manufacturing Equipment Markets reveals.
 
Improved HD and larger LCD televisions increase demand and drives the growth of the LCD manufacturing equipment market. Additionally, decreased panel prices have made LCD TVs more affordable, which will lead to phenomenal LCD TV growth, says Frost.
 
Despite the increase in panel sizes, the sales of older generation equipment will not come to a standstill as desktop monitors, cellphones and other electronics utilize smaller display sizes. Countries such as China will continue to see investment in older generation equipment as they manufacture large volumes of small-sized displays, says the research firm.
 
The market’s fierce competition leads to extreme price pressures, further compounded by the fall in glass substrates’ prices. Therefore, for equipment vendors to maintain profitability, they must manage cost structures and find new ways to control costs, concludes the firm.