According to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, 2017 UV LED v.s UV LED Module Market Report, UV LED products consistently develop in various applications, plus the Minamata Convention on Mercury and energy saving policy, LEDinside forecasted that UV LED market scale will raise from USD 288 million in 2017 to USD 526 million in 2020, CAGR of 2015-2020 is highly at 34%.

2017 TV Market Trend、2017 Automotive Panel Market Trend

Following Sony’s introduction of CLEDIS (Crystal LED Integrated Structure) displays and Apple’s acquisition of LuxVue, more technology companies are exploring the possibilities of micro-LED in various display applications. LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, reports that there are now nearly 100 private companies and research organizations participating in the development of micro-LED displays. Besides Apple and Sony, there are other major technology brands that invest in micro-LED. Notable cases include the acquisition of InfiniLED by Facebook’s Oculus and the partnership agreement between Ostendo Technologies and KDX. By entering this field in advance, these companies hope to gain favorable positions in the future.

Following LCD and OLED, micro-LED is now one of the next-generation display technologies that are in the spotlight. Besides companies working in the global display supply chain, major technology brands including Apple and Sony are increasingly involved in the development of micro-LED as they are drawn to its possibilities. Currently, those that are engaged in this field aim to bring down the production cost. The latest research from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, finds that the potential scale of the future micro-LED market – one that would replace the entire current LCD display chain including BLU, polarizer and other components – could reach US$30~40 billion.

Benefiting from the steady LED market price and the rapid growth of the automotive lighting field, automotive LED value will reach $2. 817 billion (+14.8% YoY) in 2017, as LEDinside forecasts. Relatively speaking, the compound annual growth rate of the whole LED industry is only 3% from 2015 to 2021. The LED mainstream applications include mobile phone, medium and large panel backlight, which will gradually decrease due to the development of OLED. Although LED lighting has become the largest application in LED industry, the growth of overall production value slows down due to the saturated penetration rate and a multitude of competitors. But LED manufacturers have invested in automotive lighting as well as fine pitch displays, so the market is still growing and developing.

Intel on March 13 announced that the company will purchase Mobileye, a global provider of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). This deal is worth US$15.3 billion and is another indication that major semiconductor manufacturers are aggressively jockeying for a favorable position in the fast growing automotive electronics market. TrendForce states that after the merger, Intel will be able to combine its hardware products such as high-performance computing chips and IoT solutions with Mobileye’s image processing algorithms for autonomous driving systems. 

The respective additions of 3D Sensing and iris recognition into the next-generation iPhone devices and Samsung Galaxy S8 will generate a new wave of demand for IR (infrared) LEDs used in optical sensors. LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, has recently published its 2017 IR LED/IR Laser and Optical Sensor Market Report. In the report, LEDinside states that that the global market scale of IR LED and IR laser components used in iris and facial recognition solutions will grow from US$145 million in 2017 to US$827 million in 2025. The CAGR in the forecast period is estimated at 24%.

According to a survey regarding the Southeast Asia market by LEDinside, a division of the global market research company TrendForce, judging by the overall dynamic of the LED industry around the world, it can be seen that the western market is experiencing a saturation and the price wars in the China market are rather heated-up; thus, many manufacturers are eyeing on other regions, such as Southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East. Among those ‘new lands,’ Vietnam attracts a great number of international investors with its low labour cost. As the per capita income in Vietnam is rising, it would further boost the domestic demand for LED lighting. LEDinside expected the market in Vietnam reached USD 348 million in 2016 with a penetration rate of over 40%.

The latest report”2017 LED Street Light and Commercial Lighting Market” from TrendForce LED research center（LEDinside）shows，with the promotion and policy support of all areas for LED street lights, street light replacement cases have rapidly developed. In 2017 the global LED street lighting market value reaches USD 3.30 billion, and Europe and North America still account for the largest regional market. From the perspective of shipments, the compound annual growth rate of global LED street lights is still as high as 20% in 2016~2018. Later, as LED street lights have long lifetime and replacement inventory shrinks, the shipments will slightly decline.

As for LED light sources, LEDs brightness and thermal dissipation technology still faces many technology challenges, which is why it is mainly targeting the 2,000 lm and below consumer market and home theaters. In the future technology advancements will be able to lower costs, and help it enter the 3,000 lm market. However, laser light sources are brighter, more colorful, and have longer lifetimes. Project designs are increasingly lighter and thinner. LEDinside projects the market penetration of laser light sources will reach about 30% by 2020.

According to the latest ‘ 2017 Global Sapphire and LED Chip Market Report by LEDinside, a division of the global market research firm TrendForce, LED chip market value was USD 6,329 million in 2015, while it grew by 3% to USD 6,502 million in 2016. Since the second half of 2016, Chinese LED packaging manufacturers have scaled up rapidly, targeting applications expected to prevail in the market for the next three years, including general lighting, automotive lighting, and display application. That further fosters Tier 1 Chinese LED chip manufacturers to volume up their productivity.

The value of the global LED market is estimated to grow 3.4% annually to US$14.8 billion in 2016, according to LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. The LED industry will again be under tremendous competitive pressure in 2017, and participants will need to accelerate their entries into more profitable niche markets such as fine-pitch LED displays, UV LEDs and IR LEDs. LEDinside forecasts that the value of the global LED market will total US$15.4 billion, up 4% from 2016.

The latest analysis “2017 Global Lighting Market Outlook” by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, finds that LED lighting market to worth US $29.6 billion in 2016 and is to rise to US $ 33.1 billion as of 2017. Meanwhile, the penetration rate of LED lighting is to reach 52%. Thanks to regional lighting development, LED lighting is to account for 23% of total lightings in Europe by 2016, which is the highest across the world. The second and third highest region are to be found in North America and China. However, Asia- Pacific region is to witness fastest growth rate in LED lighting.

The value of the global market for UV-C LEDs used in sterilization and purification equipment will grow at a CAGR of 56% from US$28 million in 2016 to US$257 million in 2021, according to the 2016~2021 UV LED and IR LED Application Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. The UV-C LED technology is expected to advance rapidly as an increasing number of major LED suppliers are scheduled to launch related products towards the end of 2016.

LED display can be categorized into indoor display, outdoor display and semi-outdoor display. The main clients are business owners. Displays are mainly used in public space for videos advertisements, posters display. Applications of such used to utilize low-end LED products. These displays adopt fewer LEDs and have larger pitches between each LED, generating relatively lower resolution. Thanks to the advancement in LED chips and LED packaging technology, the pitches could be minimized. Fine pitch LED display now provides even higher resolution. Consumers are able to tell the difference simply by comparing conventional display and fine pitch LED display products. High-end display market saw a growing number of orders for fine pitch LED display.

LEDinside, LED industry research brand under TrendForce, observes that prosperity of LED industry recovers in 2016, and price decline causes the LED penetration rate  to further improve. In addition, due to the impetus of India, Southeast Asia and other emerging markets, the LED market demand has significantly increased over the same period. In recent years, many large manufacturers have signed the strategic cooperation agreement and collaborative signs are more obvious, so those manufacturers’ market share will continue to increase, which is the main driving force of their production expansion.

The scale of the global market for chip-on-board (COB) LEDs used in the lighting application will reach US$580 million in 2016 and exceed US$700 million in 2021, achieving a CAGR of about 4% during the forecast period. This figure includes COB products belonging to ceramic and EMC packages. The above data and additional details can be found in the 2016~2021 Global LED Industry Demand and Supply Database Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.

LEDinside, a division of the global market research firm TrendForce, held LEDforum 2016 at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) International Convention Center on September 30. This conference, which focused on micro-LED as the next-generation display technology, featured presentations by industry and research heavyweights including Epistar, Trillion Science, hTC, PlayNitrides, OSRAM Opto, Macroblock, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), X-Celeprint and CEA-Leti.

The value of the infrared (IR) LED market worldwide continues to grow due to rising demand in various applications markets, according to the 2016~2021 Global LED Industry Demand and Supply Database Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. Applications such as security surveillance systems , virtual reality (VR) devices and facial and iris recognition solutions will push up the value of the global IR LED market from about $300 million in 2016 to US$792 million in 2021. Note this estimation excludes revenue from the optical sensor market. “Surveillance systems currently makes up the largest mainstream application market for IR LEDs,” said Joanne Wu, assistant research manager of LEDinside. “Demand for surveillance cameras with night vision ability has been rising on a yearly basis as countries across the globe invest more in their anti-terrorism capabilities and security infrastructures. This in turn help boost the value of the entire IR LED market.”

In 2016, UV LED technology has been rapidly expanding into various application markets including curing, sterilization and purification equipment. The total value of the UV LED market worldwide is estimated to grow from US$166 million in 2016 to US$555 million in 2021 at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%, according to the 2016~2021 Global LED Industry Demand and Supply Database Report byLEDinside, a division of TrendForce.

Micro-LED is regarded as a promising next-generation display technology that is being quietly developed by major brand companies in various industries. According to LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, displays for wearable devices and large indoor public displays are two applications that offer micro-LED the quickest paths to commercialization.   

The latest 2016~2021 LED Industry Supply and Demand Database Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, states that the introduction of Quad-LED True Tone flash on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus is expected to spur non-Apple branded smartphone vendors to make similar upgrades to camera flashes on their devices. Also, Quad-LED True Tone, which uses more flash LEDs than ever before, will help generate a new wave of demand in the global flash LED market. According to LEDinside, the value of the flash LED market worldwide is projected to grow from US$744 million in 2016 to $811 million in 2017, representing an annual growth of 9%.

GE Lighting’s decision to leave the Asian lighting market has sent another shock wave within the global lighting industry. LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, pointed out that less than 10% of GE Lighting’s total lighting revenue comes from China. Other markets in Asia also make up a very small percentage. At the same time, pricing and brand competition in the region has intensified. By withdrawing from this region and reinforcing its presence in North America, GE Lighting has also shown that the industry’s thinking has shifted from expanding channel network and market share to maintaining profitability and one’s survival.

Prices of LED chips and packages in China rose again during the final week of this August mainly on account of the strong demand from the fine-pitch LED display market, reports LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.    According to LEDinside, major China-based chip supplier San’an Opto and LED display package supplier Xinda Opto announced price hikes of 10% and 5%, respectively, around the same time in August. LEDinside’s analysis furthermore finds that the average LED usage volume for all indoor LED displays will increase from 60,000 in 2015 to 270,000 per square meter over the next two years. With surface areas of mainstream indoor LED display systems remain constant, the usage volume of LED packages for this application will more than triple during this two-year period.

According to the 2016 Chinese LED Chip and Package Industry Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, the market scale of China’s LED package reaches 2% year on year (YoY) growth at US $8.8 billion in 2015. The COB LED market has witnessed rapid growth over the past few years. An apparent example is that COB LEDs are gaining higher penetration rate in high-end commercial lighting applications. Meanwhile, outdoor illumination market also finds COB LED packages’ growing penetration rate. Therefore, more and more manufacturers enter the COB LED market. Aside from international manufacturers that entered the market in the early stage, including Citizen, Sharp, Bridgelux and Luminus Devices, leading manufacturers like CREE, Lumileds and Nichia also tapped into the market of COB LEDs. The number of Chinese manufacturers that entered COB LED package market is even higher, including Sunpu Opto, Guangzhou LEDteen Optoelectronics Co., Shenzhen Crescent Optoelectronic Co. and Shenzhen Tongyifang Optoelectronic Technology co. With more players entering the industry, the market has also witnessed huge change. Overall, international manufacturers are still dominant in China’s COB market.

According to the 2016 Global Lighting Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, four LED specialty lighting applications that are attracting growing interests include horticultural lighting, surgical lighting, marine/harbor lighting and smart lighting. The combined market scale of these four applications is estimated to grow from US$4.36 billion in 2016 to US$16.4 billion in 2020, with the CAGR during this forecast period reaching 30%.

In response to the rising demand for mobile payment, Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone Galaxy Note 7 includes iris recognition as a standard feature that assists in user authentication. The arrival of Galaxy Note 7 is expected to trigger a new round of hardware competition among smartphone brands as they will also likely to incorporate iris recognition into their flagship devices. According to the latest analysis from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, iris and facial recognition features will gradually become prevalent in mobile devices. LEDinside further estimates that in 2020, global shipments of mobile devices with iris and facial recognition features will reach 400 million units. By that time, the market value of infrared LEDs (IR LEDs) for iris and facial recognition will total around US$250 million. Thus, biometric recognition has become one of the most potentially profitable applications for IR LEDs.

IR LEDs have a long history of development and are used in a wide range of applications on a daily basis. Following the introduction of biometric sensors and biometric identification to smartphones and wearable devices, IR LED can also be used in Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Varied applications of IR LEDs hold great potential in the future. LEDinside estimates that the market value of IR LED (excluding sensors) will reach US $710 million at 24% CAGR by 2020, making it the new blue sea for LED manufacturers.

India’s lighting sector has enjoyed accelerated development recently. The scale of the country’s LED lighting market in particular is projected to expand 47.1% year on year in 2016 to US$1.14 billion, according to the 2016 Indian Lighting Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. The government of India intends to turn itself into hub of lighting products across East Asia and countries along the coast. International firms include Osram and Toshiba have taken India as their manufacturing base of global market. India’s domestic and foreign LED lighting demands are both high. It’s expected that the market will see explosive growth over the next two to three years. By 2020, the Indian LED lighting market is forecast to grow to US$1.715 billion. In the current LED industry, although China market is a big cake, developing new markets is still necessary, due to overcapacity and price competition. As a market with great potential, India attracts international enterprise to take it as the next manufacturing base. Aside from low tariff policies based on the Preferred Market Access Policy, other advantages of Indian market also attract investors.   The India LED lighting market is still in its early phase, with opportunities include growing internal demand, promotion of Make in India, zero tariff in Indian market, lighting manufacturers see business potential in Indian lighting market. Meanwhile, product specification improvement can be seen in the market. Moreover, diverse and unique market channels, and differences between the environments of each segment in the lighting industry should be considered carefully when entering the market.

Following LCD and AMOLED, micro-LED has emerged as the next-generation display technology that is expected to be deployed widely in various applications. Increasing interests from electronics giants Apple and Sony during the recent period have encouraged further investments in micro-LED and accelerated the timetable for its commercialization. The latest analysis from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, forecasts that micro-LED displays for smart wearable devices will enter the mass production stage in 2018. The technology will become available for smartphones later in 2020.   “Compared with the existing technologies, micro-LED offers significant improvements in many areas, including brightness/contrast, energy efficiency and response time,” said LEDinside analyst Philip Chang. “It also satisfies the demand for higher pixel density (expressed as pixels per inch or PPI) and other product design requirements, such as flexible and transparent screens. In sum, micro-LED overcomes the limitations of both LCD and AMOLED, and the mass production of displays based on this technology is foreseeable in the near future despite many unresolved technical issues.” Chang added: “Currently, the most significant technical hurdle that prevents the mass production of micro-LED displays is finding the best balance in the trade-off between pixel density and pixel volume. In this matter, Apple and Sony diverge in their strategies to commercialize the technology.”