Will Japanese Quake Affect Holiday Prices on Monitors, Flat-screen TVs?

shizuoka_JP_home_pageProduction at Corning’s LCD glass manufacturing facility in Shizuoka, Japan, has come to a halt following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake off the Japanese coast yesterday. Corning said in a statement that “glass-making operations at the facility are currently suspended and we believe they will remain so for some time.”

The company does have other glass manufacturing plants which currently have idled lines, and a UBS research note says those lines will be restarted to meet demand. Corning is “assessing options to meet customer demand” but believes that shipping volume will be down 5-10 percent in the third quarter, vs. a previous projection of flat to up slightly.

Whether this will affect pricing on computer monitors and flatscreen TVs going into the holiday quarter remains to be seen. UBS says it has “no expectation of an impact to LCD glass shipments” heading into the holiday season.

(image courtesy of Corning)

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