Samsung LCD and LG Display battling over LED consumption leadership, oversupply accelerating on significant reduction in LEDs per panel

AUSTIN, USA: IMS Research’s latest Quarterly GaN LED Supply and Demand Report features a brand new LED supply and demand model built by a new global team of authors with an important outcome – LED supply growth is significantly outpacing demand growth creating a widening surplus and increased pricing pressure.

IMS Research's SVP, Ross Young, said: "LED supply is rapidly expanding on China’s MOCVD stimulus program, ramping of recently installed tools and improving yields on existing tools. On the other hand, a significant 2H’10 reduction in LEDs per panel is causing demand to grow slower than expected, leading to reduced fab utilization and increased pricing pressure.

"Because of China’s MOCVD subsidies, MOCVD shipments and supply growth are not slowing down resulting in an accelerating supply imbalance that is expected to widen through 2012 if MOCVD shipments remain on schedule."

The latest report, which reveals each panel suppliers’ quarterly panel shipments, LED panel shipments, number of LEDs per panel and LED consumption at every size, resolution and refresh rate, shows that the weighted average number of edge-lit LEDs per panel fell by around 30 percent in both TVs and monitors from Q2’10 to Q3’10 as panel and backlight suppliers further optimize their designs to reduce costs.

Improvements in lightguide and LED efficiencies and optimization of optical films caused the reduction which is contributing to a growing LED over-supply.

The most recent issue also tracks LED consumption by panel supplier in the notebook, monitor and TV markets where LG Display consumed the most LEDs in notebooks in Q3’10 and is expected to lead in Q4’10.

In monitors, LG also led in Q3’10, but Samsung is expected to lead in Q4’10. In TVs, Samsung led in Q3’10 and is expected to lead in Q4’10. Samsung led in total LED consumption in Q3’10 and is expected to lead in Q4’10 at over 2B LEDs while LG Display is expected to lead for all of 2010 at nearly 6B LEDs consumed.