Its third fab, P3 in Amagasaki City in western Japan, began operations last week (Sept. 16) with a capacity of 125,000 42-inch panels. Matsushita's total capacity was 295,000 units a month. The Amagasaki fab will add another 125,000 units. Total capacity will be 250,000 units at full capacity by March 2007. At that time, Matsushita will have an annual capacity of 5 million units.

Plasma TVs are becoming the global standard for large flat-panel TVs, accounting for over 90 percent of the global flat-panel TV market for 37 inches and larger, according to Matsushita. "Especially in the U.S. market, the largest TV market, demand for 50-inch PDP TV is rapidly growing. The PDP TV demand is expanding rapidly, and supply has not caught up to the increasing demand," said Shunzo Ushimaru, director of Matsushita's marketing division.

Panasonic expects global PDP demand to reach 12 million units by early 2008.