China ITO Targets Market Analysis

I. Overview

ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) target is a compound target composed of three elements: tin, indium, and oxygen. It has excellent conductivity, transparency, and chemical stability, and is widely used in LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), PDP (Plasma Display Panel), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), and other display device fields. Light Emitting Diode (OLED) and other display devices. With the rapid popularization of smart phones, tablet PCs and other mobile devices, as well as smart home, smart travel and other emerging areas of the rapid rise, ITO target demand is also increasing.

II.The Market Situation

ITO target market size

According to the "ITO Targets for the Flat Panel Display Industry" report released by market research organization Yole Développement, the global ITO target market size reached USD 1.36 billion in 2022, representing a 40% increase compared with USD 970 million in 2017. Among them, LCD industry still dominates the ITO target market, but the share of OLED industry is expanding rapidly, occupying 37% share of the global ITO target market in 2022.

ITO target price change

Due to the rarity of the target itself and the complexity of the production process, the price of ITO targets has been relatively high. In recent years, with the increase in market demand, as well as rising raw material prices, ITO target prices are also rising. According to fiber optic cable industry information network data show that the current domestic ITO target price of 2900-3800 yuan per kilogram.

ITO target application areas

At present, ITO target is mainly used in the following areas:

(1) display devices: LCD, PDP, OLED, etc..

(2) solar cells: ITO film can make the light better irradiation of solar cell components, improve the power generation efficiency of the battery.

(3) Touch screen: ITO film has excellent conductivity and transparency properties, often used as a conductive layer of touch screen panels.

(4) LED: ITO film can be used as a transparent conductive layer in the LED chip.

III. Industry Chain Analysis

Raw material suppliers

The main raw materials for ITO targets include indium oxide, tin oxide, titanium and other substances. Indium oxide is the most critical raw material for the preparation of ITO targets, and the main suppliers include the United States, Canada, Australia, China and other places. And the main supplier of tin oxide is China.

ITO target manufacturers

The number of global ITO target manufacturers is small, mainly concentrated in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other places. Among them, Plansee of the United States, JX Nippon Mining & Metals of Japan, Tosoh SMD of South Korea, and Opto Tech Corporation of Taiwan are highly influential manufacturers in the whole ITO target industry chain. It is worth mentioning that, with the gradual improvement of China's process level, more and more Chinese manufacturers began to enter the field of ITO target production, such as AVIC Lithium (002460.SZ) and other enterprises.

Downstream application market

As the largest downstream application market LCD industry, its demand is as high as more than 70% of the global ITO target demand. In addition, OLED, touch screen, LED and other applications on the ITO target demand is also increasing, especially OLED field, the demand is rapidly expanding.

IV. Market Prospects

Due to the accelerated development of the current trend of digitalization, ITO target demand will maintain a rapid growth trend. In the next few years, LCD industry will continue to dominate the ITO target market, but the share of OLED industry will also continue to rise. In addition, although the number of domestic enterprises in the industry chain is relatively small at present, with the improvement of technology level, Chinese enterprises will be expected to further expand their market share.