Hitachi Exits TVs

Hitachi plans to outsource all its television production, becoming the latest Japanese OEM to exit TV manufacturing.

Which EMS company will benefit?

My money’s on — who else? — Foxconn. A year ago, Hon Hai (Foxconn’s trading name) reportedly was planning to invest in Hitachi’s Display Products Group. (Foxconn has a history of supporting the companies with which it hopes to do assembly or ODM business, and already builds TVs for Sony, Sharp and others.)

Meanwhile Flextronics, which has opened up considerable capacity by exiting the ODM PC business, does not seem to be a contender. The EMS company says it is trying to reduce its exposure to high-volume consumer electronics (along with its inherent cyclicality and margin-challenged ways).

Some of the other Taiwanese ODMs, such as Wistron and Pegatron, may be in the mix. Toshiba has history with both. Toshiba also  outsources some television production Konka Group in China.