As demand for LCD screens continues to surge, LG Philips has become the latest manufacturer to pledge an increase of output in 2006.

The company, created out of a joint venture between LG and Philips, has announced that it has already placed an order for equipment that will come to be used in its new plant, which is scheduled to come online during the first quarter of next year.

Named P7, the new line will eventually double the firm's output of LCD panels when it reaches full capacity in the summer of 2007.

It is hoped that the new production line will begin delivering 45,000 units per month during the first quarter, which will then be doubled by the third quarter as the plant comes up to full capacity.

Despite concerns among analysts that the continued increases in production capacity by the major LCD producers will lead to a glut in the market next year, producers are confident that the surge in interest this year, which has seen demand outstrip production, will sustain the industry through 2006 and beyond.

Recently, Samsung's LCD president claimed that sales of LCD screens across the world will double in the next five years, reaching 100 million units by the end of the decade.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd