Flat Panel Display Demand Recovers

Demand for items relating flat panel display demand recovers after adjustment since May due to slower sales for FDP television for World Cup Soccer. Output of electric materials including sputtering target materials and double layered copper clad substrates increases toward Christmas and new year business season. With the higher demand, indium price is hitting bottom. Largest sputtering target material supplier, Nippon Mining & Metals said the output of indium tin oxide target used for transparent conductive film of crystal liquid panel increases after summer. The firm expects the ITO sales will increase toward early 2007. Flat panel display market doubled for World Cup season from a year earlier though the makers expected triple. With the slower demand, a target material maker said the sales increased by 10% from second half of 2005 but the sales was under expectation. Display Research of USA expects large crystal liquid market will increase by 72% to 461 million units in 2010 from 267 million units in 2006. With the higher demand expectation, target materials makers try to expand the output capacity. Sumitomo Metal Mining, which has 90% share in double layered copper clad substrate of packaging for large liquid crystal driving integrated circuit, is expected to decrease the sales and profit by around 10% in the first half year. However, the firm will increase the output capacity to annual 6.5 million square meters at the end of March 2007 from current 4.6 million square meters with expectation to higher demand. International market price of indium, which is major material for indium tin oxide target, is US$ 650-700 per kilogram. Nippon Mining & Metals expects the price could increase with higher demand toward the end of the year though the price is more than 30% lower than the level in March.