Taiwan’s LED industry will grow at a moderate pace this year after a boost last year driven by demand for TV products, industry researchers said on Thursday.
The output value of the global LED industry grew from US$9 billion in 2009 to US$15.1 billion last year, an increase of 68 percent, and the number will further increase by 38 percent to US$20.8 billion this year, the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA) said.
Taiwan’s output value of LED packaging and modules, which rose nearly 60 percent last year, is expected to increase only 24 percent this year owing to a higher base period comparison, PIDA analyst Lu Shao-hsu (呂紹旭) said at a seminar.
“The 2010 market was boosted by the need for lighting applications and large backlights that was generated by South Korean companies in their promotion of LED TVs,” Lu said.
The market share of South Korea’s output value in LED packaging and modules surged from 14 percent in 2009 to 21 percent last year, ranking the country as tied in second place with Taiwan behind Japan at 31 percent.
However, LED makers in South Korea had trouble meeting demand for large backlights for LED TVs, PIDA analyst Deaphne Kuo said. These firms transferred some orders to Taiwanese LED makers to share the load, which was a strong push for Taiwan’s output value last year, she said.
Worldwide output value of large backlights is forecast to approach US$7.3 billion next year from an estimated US$2.98 billion last year. Kuo said LED lighting would drive the industry based on technological improvements and global government support.
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