Monitor makers stock up on panels due to US tariffs, brace for price hikes

Monitor makers are starting to stockpile panels due to tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration on China. The stockpiles will reach 3 million units, and monitor prices will increase by 5%, DigiTimes Asia reports.

Image source: Josh Sorenson / unsplash.com

The tariffs imposed by the new US administration threaten to cause a chain reaction in the monitor panel industry, and will not end with simple stockpiling. Fierce competition is expected to stifle “second-tier” monitor brands – those without a long history or close relationships with panel makers. These brands will have to pay more to ensure that they have sufficient manufacturing capacity for their products. “First-tier” brands will be less affected, as they are better able to offset the new tariffs with choice and greater manufacturing capacity.

Panel demand is showing a gradual increase in Q1 2025 as major players Dell, HP, and Samsung build up their inventories to combat the impact of tariffs. This is the initial wave of demand that is likely to start in late 2024, and it has already led to a small price increase for some panels so far.

Trump’s proposed tariff policy has affected not only the computer monitors segment – it was previously reported that ASRock intends to move production outside of China due to tariffs. The company does not plan to move to the US yet, but will limit itself to Vietnam and Taiwan, which are not yet covered by the new policy.

Trump, meanwhile, has threatened tariffs of up to 100% on semiconductors in general and goods from Taiwan in particular. The president wants to bring semiconductor jobs back to the US, many of which had previously moved to Taiwan. Major US retailer Newegg reported that the tariffs had inflated the prices of Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 graphics cards. Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek is now trying to assess the impact of the new US policy on its operations.