August 23, 2011 — Light emitting diode (LED) packages for outdoor luminaire have experienced a 20%-25% drop in price since Q4 2010, which Strategies Unlimited expects to continue into 2012. The viability of LEDs in outdoor applications will be a test for LED technology’s competitiveness as a whole. Particularly in China, street lighting is the biggest sector for LED adoption.
The price decline is proving to be a boon for quality luminaire manufacturers, spurring post-pilot and post-stimulus programs, says Strategies Unlimited.
China is the world’s largest market for outdoor LED lighting, but the market contracted in 2011 due to reliability issues, Strategies Unlimited reports. China’s LED market will jump to $5.8 billion in 2011, up 23% from $4.7 billion last year, according to IHS’s IHS iSuppli China Electronics Supply Chain Service. China’s LED market will then rise to $11.1 billion in 2015, for a 5-year CAGR of 17.7%.
Street lighting is a major LED adoption driver, the largest in China, says Vincent Gu, senior analyst for China electronics research at IHS. LED street lights will bring in $1.5 billion this year and should hit $1.8 billion in 2012. It is followed by other LED applications, such as LCD TV and laptop backlights.
In North America, quality consciousness has kept the LED transition’s momentum up, thanks in part to the US Department of Energy (DOE), and efforts by the Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium and the Design Lights Consortium, Strategies Unlimited notes. IHS agrees that China’s LED industry is in its "infancy," and "lagging technological capabilities [and] a paucity of adequately experienced management teams and R&D engineers," are keeping it from the steadier progress seen in the US and Taiwan.
Get the reports:
Strategies Unlimited: LED Outdoor and Area Lighting; Market Analysis and Forecast. www.strategies-u.com.
IHS iSuppli: China Witnessing the Rise of its Flourishing LED Industry. http://www.isuppli.com/China-Electronics-Supply-Chain/Pages/China-Witnessing-the-Rise-of-its-Flourishing-LED-Industry.aspx?PRX