LEDinside: Chinese LED Lighting Market Report in 2011—2015: Supply Chain Analysis

LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce, reports that China has become the largest production base for lighting products, accounting for 70% of the global capacity. According to LEDinside’s survey, China’s average number of monthly exported incandescent lamps, halogen lamps, hot-cathode compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and other lighting devices (including LED light sources) amounted to 667 million pieces, reaching a total value of US$ 1,140 million in 2010. The total export volume of 2010 reached 7.99 billion pieces and the total value hit US$ 13.677 billion, with a 24.2% growth in volume and 34.7% in value compared to 2009.

From the global LED industry perspective, breaking into the Chinese market has become the top priority, as China will not only become the largest LED lighting production base in the world but also the biggest market. Therefore, global LED manufacturers have been striving to make inroads into China, which is on its way of becoming the core of the global LED industry, in the hope of getting ahead of their competitors. 

【Chart】Chinese Lighting Product Export Volume in 2009-2010   

Source: China Customs Information Center, LEDinside

The Chinese lighting industry’s fast and consistent growth are due to two factors:

I. Low labor cost: After Zhejiang Yankon Group successfully developed the first energy-saving fluorescent tube in 1984, China’s low labor cost garndered this Chinese maker a considerable amount of OEM orders from global brand vendors, allowing many Chinese traditional lighting manufacturers to develop into first-tier companies. According to LEDinside’s statistics, there are considerable numbers of traditional lighting manufacturers with total capitals exceeding US$ 100 million.

II. Great market with domestic demand: Along with China’s rapid economic growth, the domestic market demand is also quickly expanding. Eyeing China’s huge potential, major global lighting manufacturers entered the Chinese market in masses, including European lighting makers Osram Opto and Philips Lighting, the US manufacturers GE Lighting and CREE, and Japanese big name Panasonic. These global companies aimed to take the initiative in obtaining market share by setting up the headquarters and production bases in China.

【Chart】Chinese Lighting Makers’ Development in 2011

Source: LEDinside

For more information on the trends and outlook of the Chinese LED lighting market from 2011 to 2015, please refer to the “《Chinese LED Lighting Market Report in 2011—2015》”, including relevant data updated through August, 2011.