LED oversupply set to continue
1 min read
Despite a major surplus in the led market, market analyst IHS says top suppliers are increasing their capital spending and production in anticipation of an expected boom in the lighting business.
Global shipments of metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) equipment - tools that are essential for led manufacturing - are expected to rise by 17% this year, a major turnaround from the 70% plunge in 2012.
"The global market for led lighting is expected to double during the next three years," noted Alice Tao, senior analyst for leds and lighting at IHS. "The prospect of this massive growth is irresistible to led suppliers, who don't want to be caught short of supply during this expected boom.
"But given the rising investments in manufacturing equipment, the acute led oversupply already in existence is expected to continue through 2016."
IHS expects the supply of leds, measured in terms of manufactured die, to exceed demand by 69% in 2013 and in 2014. The glut is then predicted to decline slightly to 61% in 2015 and then to 40% in 2016.
