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Coronavirus May Disrupt TV, Laptop, and PC Monitor Production

Research firm IHS Markit expects the display panel factories in Wuhan, China, to struggle to resume full production when the Chinese New Year holiday ends on Feb. 2. As a result, supplies for panels for TVs and PCs are expected to be tight in the ensuing months.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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The coronavirus outbreak in China may end up leading to a shortage of LCD panels for TVs and PCs, according to research firm IHS Markit

Wuhan, China, which has been ground zero for the outbreak, is also the home of five display panel factories that produce LCD and OLED panels. To stop the virus' spread, the Chinese government has quarantined the city of 11 million. Schools, movies theaters, restaurants, and shops within Wuhan have also closed.

As a result, IHS Markit expects the factories to struggle to resume production when the Chinese New Year holiday ends on Feb. 2. The research firm is currently forecasting a 10 percent to more than 20 percent drop in China's LCD output next month at a time when the country owns over half of the world's display manufacturing capacity.

"These factories are facing shortages of both labor and key components as a result of mandates designed to limit the contagion's spread," David Hsieh, IHS Markit senior director, said in a Friday research note. "In the face of these challenges, top display suppliers in China have informed our experts that a near-term production decline is unavoidable."

The production shortfall may also lead to slight price increases for LCD panels for TVs, laptops and PC monitors, the research firm added. "For example, the price for an open-cell LCD-TV panel was originally expected to rise by $1 or $2 per month in February. However, the actual increase may be $3 to $5 for the month," IHS Markit added.

Two of the display factories in Wuhan are owned by TCL, which is perhaps best known for making affordable 4K TVs. Another two factories are owned by Tianma, which counts PC maker Asus as a customer.

One of the other big tech manufacturers in China is Foxconn, which builds products for Apple, Sony, HP, and Microsoft, among others. The company does have a facility in Wuhan, but it told Reuters that it's committed to meeting its "manufacturing obligations."

Earlier this week, Apple also said it has suppliers in Wuhan, but described them as "alternate sources" for the company's main product manufacturing. "With respect to supply sources that are outside the Wuhan area, the impact is less clear at this time," Apple CEO Tim Cook said during an earnings call.

"The situation is emerging, and we're still gathering lots of data points and monitoring it very closely," he added.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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