LED pricing face global downtrend

LEDinside, a research arm of TrendForce Corp., has released the details of its LED light bulb price survey. The ASP of 40W LED light bulbs as incandescent replacement dropped by two percent in November, while the ASP in Japan fell by about 10 percent. With regard to 60W LED light bulbs, the ASP faintly improved, but the lowest price plunged below $24.

Click to enlarge
Source: LEDinside

According to LEDinside, the decrease in LED light bulb ASP was due to the global and Japanese brand names’ increasingly aggressive price strategies. At present, the ASP of 40W replacement is at about $22.6 worldwide and below $20 in Japan. LEDinside indicates that the South Korean market still has the most competitive price (about $11.4) for LED light bulbs for 40W replacement.

Click to enlarge
Source: LEDinside

The market research firm noted that the slight increase in ASP was due to exchange rate fluctuations and the adjustment of product strategies. The ASPs in Japan and the U.S. surged due to major makers launching new types of LED light bulbs. However, LEDinside found that despite the high prices of certain new LED light bulbs resulting in higher ASP, the old light bulbs’ prices are still facing a downtrend. As a result, the light bulb prices in markets are still falling. For example, the price of Philips’ 800lm warm white LED light bulb in the U.S. dropped from $24.97 in October to $24 in November, representing a four percent drop.

In addition to the persistent downtrends in Europe, the U.S. and Japan, prices of the top LED light bulb brands in China begin to drop as well. LEDinside has stated that in terms of the high-end products (with luminous efficacy higher than 80lm/W or 800lm), manufacturers’ strength in product development will primarily determine their products’ prices. However, with the improved market acceptance, technological advancement and decreasing costs, the price downtrend is expected to continue. After all, when consumers choose among products with similar specifications and qualities, price will come into play, in particular for 400lm light bulbs.