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All bodes well for those who've waited for flat-panel display prices to drop.

An August 24 announcement by Samsung Electronics Co. predicts a 10%–20% decline in wholesale prices of LCD panels, beginning as soon as the fourth quarter of this year. OEM prices for the raw panels have been dropping consistently over the past few months, the result of TV makers having "reached a limit" as far as their willingness to pay for materials needed to make the popular sets, according to Samsung executive Sang Wang Lee.

Lower wholesale prices should translate to lower prices at retail and increased availability. The niche most affected should be in mid-size panels used to make 17–19" monitors, Samsung projects. The LCD market could even experience an oversupply by early next year, perhaps by as much as 9.3% according to figures compiled by California-based market research company iSuppli Corporation, a circumstance that would further lower prices. LCD production was a $2.14 billion business for Samsung in the most recent fiscal quarter, 17% of the company's gross revenue.

Plasma displays (PDPs) are also likely to drop in price as manufacturers ramp up production. Also on August 24, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. announced plans to double the production capacity at its plasma display panel plant in Osaka. The production boost should take place by the end of the year, four months earlier than originally projected. The Matsushita Plasma Display Panel Co., owned 75% by Matsushita and 25% by Toray Industries, Inc., should be rolling out an additional 40,000 PDPs per month from its second largest plant by December, on top of the current 40,000 for a total of 80,000 units per month.

The boosted PDP production should total more than 130,000 units for all of Matsushita's plants, including one in Shanghai, China and another in Osaka, Japan. In May, Matsushita announced a joint venture to build a large PDP factory in Amagasaki, in western Japan. When that plant reaches full production in 2006, the company's yearly PDP output could top 4.5 million units.

Matsushita was the world's third-largest shipper of PDPs in 2003, claiming 18.3% of the market, according to research firm DisplaySearch. Samsung was second with a 20.0% market share; number one was Fujitsu Hitachi Display Ltd. with a 23.9% share, according to DisplaySearch figures.