Market Overview

The global production volume of polarizing plates in 2021 is estimated to have attained 627.45 million square meters, 108.8% of that of previous year. By LCD type, those polarizing plates for thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display i.e. TFT LCD, and for Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode i.e. AMOLED are estimated to have occupied overwhelming 99.1% of the entire polarizing plate production volume.

The global production volume of polarizing plates for TFT LCD and for AMOLED grew prominently by 9.1% to 621.50 million square meters. Because special demand for displays caused by at-home spending stemming from self-quarantine in the COVID-19 calamity continued in 2021, almost all the polarizing plate manufacturers kept their full-scale production. Yet, tight supply in polarizing plates mainly for large display screens continued until the third quarter 2021.

In the first half of 2021, manufacturers of TV sets and display screens kept ordering polarizing plates to ensure safety stock and to prevent from production suspension stemming from component shortage. This led the production volume of polarizing plates in 2021 not to coincide with the total area of display screen shipments. There were larger polarizing plate areas produced than the areas of display panels shipped.

Noteworthy Topics

Over-Imaginable Demand for PET Films led Impossible for PET Film Alone to Cope With, and Made PMMA Films to be Required

The operation of a new line of domestic polyester (PET) films for optical applications was supposed to give an impact on the polarizing plate industry. The market size of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) protective films on the outer side was considered to shrink by the new production capacity of PET films being introduced in the market.

However, the need for PET films as well as their increasing use amount at large-scale polarizing plate clients were more than imaginable, which led the film producers to be pressed to respond to further expansion in demand caused by operations of newly added polarizing plate production lines at clients.

New operation of polarizing plate production lines mainly at Chinese polarizing plate manufacturers and further new investments are projected to be performed in full scale from 2022. While a plastic polarizing plate made up of iodine-doped stretched PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) films is sandwiched by a pair of plain TAC (tri-acetyl cellulose) films for protection, such plain TAC films have no room to increase their production capacity furthermore unless new investment is made. Because supply capacity of PET films is close to full, PET film alone among non-TAC materials cannot keep up with the demand. Naturally, the demand for PMMA, or poly (methyl methacrylate) films increases, and is expected to expand their applications to PVA-film protection.     

Future Outlook

The global production volume of polarizing plates for TFT LCD and AMOLED in 2022 is expected to achieve 665.50 million square meters, 107.1% on a YoY basis.

Production cut that began since October 2021 at major display screen manufacturers continued until January 2022. However, as production volume of large displays is increasing in BOE since February, demand for polarizing plates has recovered as of second quarter of 2022. In April 2022, almost all the polarizing plate manufacturers, mainly Chinese, are at maximum capacity, many of which accepting the largest orders since their commencement of business. Unlike the status in several months ago, polarizing plate demand has upturned to rapid expansion.

Still, polarizing plate demand in the second half of 2022 can decline again, because of those factors that lead to decreasing demand for electronics devices including TVs, against the backdrop of Ukraine invasions by Russia, the influence of lengthened lockdown in China to production and shipment of display screens and polarizing plates, and the impact of new production line operation at major polarizing plate manufacturers, etc. Therefore, the polarizing plate market is projected to fluctuate, due to various internal and external factors.

In the mid-term perspective, the TV display screen market is likely to enter the size of 50 inches on average by 2022. The effect of screen-size expansion may offset the declining production volume of displays, which may cause the global polarizing plate market to continue growing by more than 5% per year. 

Research Outline