A new report by Allied Market Research, “Global Light Emitting Diode (LED) Market,” estimates this market will reach $42.7 billion by 2020, registering a robust compound annual growth rate of 13.5 percent from 2014–2020. The Asia-Pacific region dominates the LED technology market because it houses approximately three-quarters of global electronics manufacturers. North America, due to high-tech forensic and medical applications, leads the ultraviolet (UV) LEDs market.


After the success of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), the LED is the next big general lighting technology. A lack of hazardous liquid mercury and greater power efficiency has allowed LEDs to successfully penetrate the market and outdo CFLs in the commercial market. It is anticipated that LED lamps will command about 20 percent share of the global lighting market by 2020. This will be equivalent to two-thirds of the revenue for LEDs. However, the demand for basic LED in backlighting applications will decline as organic LED (OLED) technology broadens its horizon of applications and would eventually supersede basic LED-based mobile displays.


The primary applications of UV LEDs are in medical treatments and forensic tests. UV LED technology anticipates further development as companies are rigorously working out acquisitions to expand their product portfolio and applications.


Foreseeing great environmental benefits and energy-saving capabilities, governments across the globe are implementing LED lighting in many public settings. The U.S. government is replacing conventional streetlights with LEDs, with expected completion by the end of 2014. Such developments are instrumental in the growth of the LED technology.


“The growth in revenue will be slower than the rise in unit sales of LEDs due to the constantly declining price of LEDs,” said Ranjan Singh, AMR analyst. “Continuous development in the technology suggests huge underlying potential for OLEDs during the forecast period.”