DisplaySearch said in its Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report for the final quarter of 2006 that flat-panel display (FPD) revenues for all applications (with displays ranging from 1 to 70 inches) are expected to rise 14 percent in calendar year 2006 to $85.5 billion. That compares with $74.8B in 2005.

FPD unit shipments are expected to rise 6 percent to 3.4 billion panels in 2006, delivering 43.5 million square meters of viewable display area--enough to cover more than 5,800 soccer fields, the firm said in a statement.

The Austin, Texas based firm said consumer demand for flat-panel HD is driving FPD shipment growth. The report estimates the TV market will account for 36 percent of all flat-panel revenues in 2006, up from 24 percent in 2005.