Rising Costs of LED Packages Slowed Down Price Decline in LED Light Bulb Market During April, Says TrendForce

In April, the global average sales price (ASP) of 40-watt equivalent LED replacement light bulbs rose by 0.2% from the prior month to US$6.6, while the global ASP of 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs fell by 0.2% from the prior month to US$8.1. The latest report from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, finds the price trend for LED light bulbs was generally stable through April.

LEDinside analyst Allen Yu said prices of some LED packages went up during April. In particular, major suppliers on the global market all raised ASPs of their 2835 lighting LEDs. This slowed down the price decline for LED light bulbs in the downstream and even temporary reversed the trend for 40-watt equivalent products. However, the global ASPs of both the 40-watt and 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs will be on a gradual decline in the long run.

Global LED package suppliers rolled out new products and China’s package market saw a general price increase

In China’s LED package market, 0.2-watt and 0.5-watt 2835 LEDs went up by 3.4% and 3.9% respectively between March and April. While the main suppliers of 2835 LEDs are Chinese and Taiwanese companies, other major global suppliers are also putting out extensive 2835 product lines. Lumileds for instance already released the 2835C series that features high luminous efficacy and the 2835E series that is more aligned to the average luminous efficacy level. This year, Lumileds has also launched the 3V EA series that is suited for linear luminaires. These products from Lumileds are all priced higher than the ASP of 2835 LEDs in China. As for prices of 3030 and 5630 LEDs, their prices in the Chinese market were steady through April.

Looking at prices of LED light bulbs, ASPs of 40-watt equivalent products in Europe increased slightly in April. The ASP in the U.K. went up by 1% from the prior month. Just a few products saw price hikes in the U.K. For example, the price of a 6-watt 470-lumen LED light bulb from OSRAM bounced back by 5% from March to US$5.59. In Germany, the ASP of 40-watt equivalent products went up by 0.8% from March. The U.S. on the other hand saw a decline of 0.4% from March.

In China, LED light bulb vendors slashed prices of their 40-watt equivalent products to capture more market shares during April. FSL, for instance, lowered the price of its 7-watt 550-lumen product by 32% from March to US$3.5. Other vendors including Philips and PAK also cut their prices by a significant margin.

With regard to 60-watt equivalent products, the U.S. and Europe saw marginal price decline in April whereas markets in Asian countries saw price increase. In the U.K., the ASP went down by 2% compared with March because well-known brands such as Sylvania and Philips lowered prices on some of their products. Germany also saw a monthly drop of 3.2% as several products were on promotion. Furthermore, OSRAM in April released a new 7.2-watt 806-lumen product that was priced US$5.8, which was also 25% less than the global ASP for 60-watt equivalent products at the time.

The ASP in Japan rose by 2.2% in April compared with March due to price hikes for a few products. For example, Iris Ohyama raised the price of its 7-watt 810-lumen product by 20% versus the prior month to US$12.73. In Taiwan, the ASP rose by 1.75% from March due to some low-price products exiting the market. ASPs of 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs in other Asian countries were stable in April.