A SURGE in sales of flat-screen TVs is leaving consumers waiting up to a month to get their new plasma or LCD.
The shortage has been blamed on the Federal Government's $900 stimulus handouts and a decision by manufacturers to slash production because of the global recession.
Before last year's Olympics, local businesses boosted stocks of flat-screen TVs to prepare for an expected sales surge, but nervous buyers, frightened by talk of financial gloom and doom, held back.
Makers of flat-panel TVs then slashed worldwide production, and for several months there was a shortage of screens, said Denis Kerr, Sharp Australia's deputy general manager.
But since September, the market has bounced back, creating a huge, unfulfilled demand for the televisions.
"A week before the stimulus package came out, it went absolutely crazy," Mr Kerr said.
