TAIPEI, TAIWAN: The global LCD market is likely to face a supply shortage from the second quarter of 2010, as demand picks up after the current seasonal weakness through to the first quarter of next year, research company DisplaySearch said.

That could help ease concerns of severe oversupply next year and could be good news for major display makers including LG Display in South Korea and AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics in Taiwan.

"Demand is weak now, but we might see a shortage from the second quarter because TV brands will buy panels before the peak season comes again," David Hsieh, a vice-president at the research company, told a seminar on Friday.

"We don't think the (LCD) market has matured yet, because you will see many traditional CRT (cathode ray tube) TV sets in many emerging markets replaced by LCD TVs," he said. "China is a key growth market."

DisplaySearch reiterated that China would overtake North America to become the world's largest LCD TV consumer in 2011, representing 21.3 percent of the global market.

After several months of strong LCD sales, some analysts said the industry could face a repeat of the downcycle next year if demand dwindled, although sector leaders in South Korea typically suffer less than smaller rivals in a downcycle.

Flat panel sales - most of which use liquid crystal display (LCD) technology - could rise 5 percent to $93.3 billion globally next year after an estimated 15 percent decline this year, according to DisplaySearch.