The worldwide high-brightness LED market leapt from $5.6bn in 2009 to $10.8bn in 2010, according to market research firm Strategies Unlimited, and the total market is expected to reach $18.9bn in 2015. Ten companies accounted for over 75% of the HB-LED market. Strategies Unlimited arrived at these figures after analyzing market demand as well as the supply-side activity of more than 40 HB-LED component suppliers.
The ranking by revenue of the top 10 suppliers in the HB-LED market in 2010 is:
• Nichia
• Samsung LED
• Osram Opto Semiconductors
• Philips Lumileds Lighting
• Seoul Semiconductor
• LG Innotek
• Cree
• Sharp
• Toyoda Gosei
• Everlight
Several paths led to this impressive growth. Samsung LED, Seoul Semiconductor, and LG Innotek rode the boom in the LCD TV and monitor backlight market. Osram rode the rise of the Chinese HB-LED market, especially in the automobile sector. Lumileds’ success in high-power backlight products, mobile phone flash, and architectural lighting contributed to much of its success. Cree’s dedicated focus on lighting ensured its continued strong position in the solid-state lighting revolution.
Meanwhile, Chinese LED suppliers captured 2% of the market; Chinese HB-LED technologies are currently three to five years behind the rest of the world.
Per region, Japan represents 33%%, Korea 28% and far behind Europe and US which represent together only 23%.
LED luminaire design, rather than LED performance, was the primary concern for the lighting market in 2010. HB-LED component revenue for lighting was $890m in 2010. Solid-state lighting will become the key market driver in 2014 because of the worldwide focus on energy efficiency and the phase-out of incandescent bulbs. The forecast compound annual growth rate for HB-LED components for lighting from 2010–2015 is 39%.
