Global TV shipments hit record highs in the third quarter

In brief: While Covid-19 has almost killed several industries, some have experienced a boost because of the pandemic. Global TV shipments, for example, reached a "historical high" in the third quarter of 2020, according to a new report.

Market intelligence firm TrendForce writes that 62.05 million units were shipped over the third quarter of 2020. That marks a 38.8 percent jump over the previous quarter, and a 12.9 percent increase compared to the same period a year earlier.

As is the case with gaming, video-calling software, streaming services, and work-from-home products, the coronavirus played a big part in the upturn. In North America alone, the number of people staying at home for longer hours has seen total TV sales for the January-August period increase by 20 percent compared to the same period in 2019. Moreover, a number of TV shipments were delayed in the first half of the year due to the pandemic, leading to an increase in shipments in the third quarter.

The surge is expected to continue into Q4 when TrendForce expects shipments to rise by 4 percent compared to Q3, hitting 64.53 million units.

Despite the rise, TrendForce predicts that overall yearly television shipments will be down slightly compared to 2019---this year's 216.09 million units represent a decrease of 0.8 percent from last year.

It's also noted that TV panel prices are likely to continue rising following a 41-50 percent increase in Q3. But even though manufacturing costs are rising, TV selling prices dropped by up to 5 percent in 2020, a result of brands sacrificing profitability to reach their yearly shipment targets and increase market shares.

Looking at individual companies, the top five all saw YoY increases, with Samsung shipping almost double the number of units as second-place LG. The big winner was Chinese giant TCL, which saw its shipments up 52.7 percent YoY.