| The worldwide LED market grew 9.8% to $12.5 billion in 2011, with 44% growth in the lighting sector, according to Strategies Unlimited, who revealed the top-ten LED suppliers for the year. However, the outlook remains roughly flat for the next 5 years, peaking in 2013. | ||
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The worldwide high-brightness LED market grew from $11.3 billion in 2010 to $12.5 billion in 2011, a growth rate of 9.8%, according to market-research firm Strategies Unlimited. Demand for LED components (i.e. packaged LEDs) in the lighting market grew 44%, from $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion.
However, looking ahead, the annual revenues for packaged LEDs are likely to stay approximately flat for the next five years. The growth in revenue from the lighting sector will be largely offset by a decline in the backlighting sector.
Leading LED suppliers for 2011
On the supply side, 10 companies accounted for more than 68% of the LED market in 2011. Strategies Unlimited arrived at these figures after analyzing market demand as well as the supply-side activity of 54 LED component suppliers.
The rank order of the top 10 suppliers in the LED market for 2011, by revenue of packaged LED components, is: 1. Nichia
(*Companies have the same ranking when the difference in revenue is within the margin of error. Revenue includes packaged LED sales only, so pure-play LED chip companies such as Epistar are excluded).
LED supply by region
Geographically, Taiwanese and Chinese suppliers gained market share at the expense of the other regions. China’s improvement in product quality, coupled with gains in the domestic market, fueled the growth from 2% market share to 6% in one year. Korean companies lost share in the slowing market, even though they were the most aggressive in increasing capacity during the ramp-up in 2010.
The expansion by Philips Lumileds, Cree and Osram Opto into 6-inch substrates slowed as there was a great deal of excess capacity in their existing 4-inch lines. The Japanese LED business has trended down or flat. However, Nichia and TG are major beneficiaries of the boom in tablet computers. Osram Opto gained a major design win, which propelled its visible LED component business to more than $1 billion.
Market growth by segment
Mobile
TV/Monitor backlights
Lighting
Automotive
Future growth The revenues for the LED packaging industry are expected to be flat in the next five years. With excess capacity in the industry there is a threat of unsustainable prices. Consolidation – both vertical and horizontal – can help improve margins. To further improve profit margin, product strategies such as LED packages tested for high temperature, narrow binning, high CRI, directional /multidirectional LEDs, and embedded controls are being tried by the market. |
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