The lighting-use LED market contracted 5-16% in the fourth quarter, while backlighting-use LED products fell 4-13% according to a new report from LEDinside, a division of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce. The average price of lighting-use LED products is falling with the arrival of the non-peak season and as competition intensifies among manufacturers, said Jack Kuo, an assistant research manager at LEDinside. “Orders are falling and profits are being squeezed,” he said. “For manufacturers to increase their market share, they need to introduce more new products.”

In the third quarter, when LED market activity typically slows, LED backlighting prices declined an average of 3-8% as demand fell. Meanwhile, LED demand for lighting applications remained flat, but price competition in the overall LED market, remained fierce, as prices fell 6-12%, according to LEDinside, a subsidiary of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firmTrendForce. Price competition in the overall LED market, meanwhile, remained fierce, as prices fell 6-12%.