Relationship should mean a steadier supply of panels for users, more profit for Panasonic and Hitachi Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic) and Hitachi have agreed to mutually supply PDP (plasma display panel) screens to each other as part of a deal reached to help boost profits in the competitive business area.Panasonic will start to supply Hitachi with 103-inch plasma panels this year and Hitachi will supply 85-inch panels to Panasonic from 2008, they said in a statement.The deal means that each company will be able to offer TV sets in each screen size without producing both size panels themselves. The relationship should also mean a stable supply of panels. While Panasonic and Hitachi compete on the shop floor for consumer PDP TV sales they have been working together behind the scenes on PDP research, development and production since 2006. The PDP industry is coming under increasing pressure from manufacturers of competing LCD (liquid crystal display) technology and that’s pushing down prices and shaving profits. Deals like that announced on Thursday are intended to help keep the business profitable.The competition is being felt through the entire PDP industry.Last week South Korea’s LG Electronics said it will cut back production of PDP screens by closing the oldest of its three plants but not increasing production at its other two factories to compensate. As a result, monthly capacity will drop from 430,000 panels to 360,000 panels. In January Pioneer put plans to build a new PDP factory on hold. It blamed poor sales in the U.S. over the year-end holidays for the decision. In the first quarter of 2007 shipments of PDP panels fell 1 percent compared to the same period last year — the first time the industry has seen a year-on-year decline, according to DisplaySearch. The drop was attributed to a loss of market share to LCDs at screen sizes over 37 inches. Total PDP shipments in the first quarter were 2.3 million, the industry researcher said. Technology Industry