LCD Panel Makers Keep Running Despite Falling Factory Use

The makers of LCD panels for laptops and TVs are pressing on with churning out the glass, no matter how bad the industry is doing, reports trade pub DigiTimes . In an article on its Web site , the paper says that despite an expected 10% to 20% drop in the first quarter of 2009 in already low utilization of factories at AU Optronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics ( CMOPF.PK ), and Chungwa Picture Tubes, the companies are not going to cease production entirely. Instead, they are asking employees to take unpaid holidays, for example, among drastic measures to keep lines running despite the fact that it is must be quite uneconomical to do so at this point. Notes DigiTimes, “According to AUO, the panel supplier is looking to utilize less manpower, and hence lower productivity, to compliment its poor outlook for the first quarter of next year. The company will start its annual maintenance at the end of this month, but said it has no plans to cease production completely. (link)