Global LCD and Plasma Sales to Double by 2012

According to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Association (JEITA), a Japanese industry group that tracks these things, flat panel television sales (both LCD and plasma) are expected to more than double to 180 million units by 2012. Largely this is being driven by a growing Chinese economy and of course the ever-increasing purchasing trends of the United States. Japan is no slouch either, but in terms of volume the big players seem to be making an impressive dent.

This trend is being lead largely by LCD displays (in terms fo volume, not percentage) which continue to drop in price as technology advances and larger screen sizes flow into the market. Demand for LCD TVs, according to the report, is likely to reach 155 million units in five years, up from 74.8 million sold in 2007.

Plasma TVs are not left out of the picture, with a likely total of 25 million units being sold in 2012, compared with 11.4 million sold last year. Currently the ratio of LCD to plasma (worldwide) has reached 6.5 to 1. By 2012, that ratio is expected to be around 6.2:1, projecting an actual gain in market share for plasma. There was no explanation for this reasoning, however we'd wager that we'll see a continued erosion of the plasma market over time.

The reported forecasts are based on expected demand from 51 nations, which JEITA says represents the majority of the developed world.

Sony Corp and South Korea's Samsung Electronics lead the LCD TV market, while Panasonic controls one-third of the plasma TV market.