LCD Monitors are set to continue their year on year growth according to the latest forecasts from Meko's DisplayCast market research service.

The European desktop monitor market is expected to show 3.1 per cent growth in volume in 2004 compared with 2003 with a further rise of 4.3 per cent expected in 2004. The major regions in the west of Europe are not expected to drive this growth as demand for notebook PCs will reduce demand for desktop PCs and thus for monitors.
"As demand for new desktop PCs in some countries is not expected to be as strong as in recent years, we can expect the desktop monitor market to level off in 2004 and 2005," says Pete Gamby, Meko's research director.
The CRT market will decline by nearly a third in each of the next two years with shipments of around 9.2m units in 2005 compared to nearly 18m units in 2003.
For LCDs, the outlook is much better. Unit sales should grow by more than a third this year, assuming that the panel makers continue to add production capacity at the expected rate. Growth from 2004 to 2005 will slow somewhat to around 20 per cent year on year.
However, as the market for flat panel desktop displays has begun to mature, there is no longer a consistent quarter on quarter growth in the LCD monitor market. Instead, predictable seasonal trends are beginning to emerge in many of the countries in Europe. For example, some of the Nordic countries are showing a downturn in LCD shipments in the third quarter each year.
By screen size, sales of 15-in LCD monitors will be constrained by the panel makers' wish to move to supply larger, more profitable panels. This means 17-in LCD monitors should show the strongest growth. The 18-in monitor segment will fall away as 19-in becomes the accepted larger format.
Perhaps the most significant change is the forecast for larger LCD screen sizes of 20-in and above. The data shows sales should grow by more than 50 per cent from 2003/04 in unit terms.

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