Matsushita waves goodbye to cathode ray tubes

MATSUSHITA PANASONIC said it is shutting its Malaysian factory making CRT (cathode ray tube) displays and will liquidate the joint venture it has their with Toshiba.

The factory makes 21-inch to 32-inch CRTs for the Japanese and North American markets. The reason, according to Matsushita, is a decline in demand for CRTs, intensified price competition and increasing sales of flat panel TVs.

Figures for the JV show it made a net loss of RM969,422 in the financial year to March 2006.

If it is not quite the end of an era, it is the middle of the beginning of the end of an era. It seems few want those cathode rays flying around the living room any more. µ