Report Sees Emerging Squeeze in LED Prices Amid Fierce Competition

December 14, 2013—A new market research report from IHS Inc., Lighting – World – 2013, forecasts that light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will continue dominating the lighting market through 2018, thanks to falling prices, government influences and increasing efficiency. The report predicts that revenues for LED lamps will be 32 percent of the global market in 2014, the highest individual technology revenue share. This big shift for lighting is expected to continue, in spite of LED manufacturers being subject to smaller margins.

For many years, the Big Three lighting manufactures that have dominated the market were GE, Osram and Philips. With household use switching from incandescent lamps to alternatives such as halogen, compact fluorescent and LEDs, the report predicts that companies such as Havells, TCP and Panasonic will continue to expand their LED lamp portfolios. Samsung, Toshiba, TCP and LG also manufacture LEDs but benefit from significantly diverse product offerings in non-lighting sectors. Some of these competitors may force the Big Three into accepting lower margins to compete in the residential market.