Tokyo – Hitachi disclosed here that it has postponed plans to build a new manufacturing plant for plasma display panels, citing lower than expected demand.
Instead, the company said it expects to be able to meet its more modest sales growth forecasts by making enhancements to current manufacturing operations.
In January, the company said it was considering plans to invest about $840 million in a new factory in Japan.
Currently, the company operates three plasma plants, and expects to increase capacity from 3.6 million to about four million per year.
Plasma manufacturers continue to suffer from global overproduction over the last year that was in part spurred on by bullish expectations for strong big-screen TV demand surrounding World Cup soccer telecasts in Europe and Asia.
When demand fell well short of forecasts, some manufacturers redirected shipments to North America, resulting in oversupply and steep price cuts.
