12 March 2012

HB-LED market grew 4.3% in 2011 to $12bn

The high-brightness LED (HB-LED) market grew 4.3% year-on-year to $12bn in 2011, according to the report ‘LEDs: The 2011 Market Review’ from the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC).

Graphic: Quarterly revenue (normalized to December 2007) for EPIC Bellwether Index companies.

Demand for LED BLU (back-light unit) displays is still growing. However, fewer LEDs are needed to realise a BLU than in previous generations, so LED chip consumption is falling. The cost per LED is also falling. Together, these two factors mean that revenues attributed to LEDs per display screen are dropping rapidly. So, although production of BLUs based on LEDs should continue to rise through 2014, demand for LEDs for edge-lit BLUs has peaked and will settle at about 70% of its maximum value in 2010-2011.

EPIC has compiled its EPIC Bellwether Index of key companies, indicating the commercial development of solid-state lighting. In 2011, the Bellwether companies showed widely varying fortunes. For example, lighting systems firms such as Philips and Zumtobel showed healthy growth, while chip makers like Epistar and Cree showed mixed results. In contrast, the slowing demand for the back-lighting market - together with the end of Chinese government subsidies for the purchase of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems - has led to a scaling back in demand for MOCVD system maker Aixtron.

See related items:

HB-LED market to grow 13.4% from 2011’s $8.9bn to $10.1bn in 2012

LED fab equipment spending to fall 18% in 2012

Strategies Unlimited lowers 2011 HB-LED revenue growth forecast to 9.8%

Tags: HB-LEDs MOCVD

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