Matsushita Doubles Plasma Production as LCD Rivals Scale Back (MC)

Apparently Matsushita Electric Industrial (MC) and its Panasonic consumer electronics brand have no fear of what appears to be an unfavorable market for flat panel display televisions. On Monday, Matsushita doubled its plasma display panel capacity ahead of schedule in response to surging global demand. This comes even as rivals in LCD TVs have reportedly slowed production due to high inventory levels.

I am interested to know if Matsushita simply wants to be number one, which according to the Nikkei Shimbun it will be, overtaking LG Electronics in terms of plasma panel shipments or is it the case that demand for plasma TVs is stronger than for LCD TVs. Are prices falling faster for one more than the other and/or has Matsushita cut costs enough to increase margins despite falling prices?

For one thing the World Cup Soccer effect may be limited at least in Japan because the Japanese national team was eliminated in the first round.

Secondly, higher borrowing rates for U.S. consumers could negatively impact sales even with falling unit prices.

Related articles:

Matsushita ups plasma TV capacity (The Japan Times Online, 06/27)

Matsushita Electric raises plasma panel output ahead of plan - report (Forbes.com XFN-Asia wire, 06/25)

Matsushita Electric Industrial (MC) 1-year chart: