According DisplaySearch’s latest Q4’08 Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report, business and consumer reactions to global economic conditions have changed the outlook for electronic display sales and shipments over the next seven years. One year ago, the Q3’07 Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report from DisplaySearch projected sales of flat panel displays would grow to $124 billion in 2009. That forecast represented information about producer shipment targets and analyst projections based on historical data through Q3’07. Since then, a normal decline in panel pricing caused by capacity expansion has been deepened by a basic change in consumer behavior in reaction to economic problems.

Consumer surveys and retail data compiled by NPD, DisplaySearch’s parent company, indicate that such behavioral changes may persist. In addition, consumers outside of Europe or North America face recessionary conditions. Therefore, the Q4’08 Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report predicts sales of $124 billion will not be reached until 2014, five years later than the Q4’07 report predicted. The following figure compares the flat panel sales forecasts of Q4’07 and Q4’08 for the years 2008–2015. (Source: Display Search)