According to the latest price survey by LEDinside, the LED research division of TrendForce, in May 2012, global LED light bulb price basically remained stable without dramatic fluctuations. 40W equivalent LED light bulb ASP saw no remarkable changes as prices of existing products around the world kept flat or slightly dropped while general prices of new arrivals were relatively high. On the other hand, 60W equivalent LED light bulb ASP dipped by 1% to USD 33.5, price falls mainly occurring in Korea and UK.
40W equivalent LED light bulb: prices of existing products remained steady and new products increased
According to LEDinside, the global ASP of the 40W equivalent LED light bulb kept around USD$20.8 in May. The prices of existing products in surveyed area remained stable or slightly declined while new products are increasing and relatively high in price. There was about 4.4% price growth in Japan in May, and the average price reached around US$21. The prices of existing products modestly fluctuated. And temporarily there was no new product in the market. ASP went upward in Korea and USA mainly because the high prices of new products had driven up the overall ASP. Besides, the ASPs of the 40W equivalent LED light bulb in UK and Germany respectively showed 13% and 9% decline, and the prices of existing products in the two areas both slid in a steady way.
60W equivalent LED light bulb: global ASP saw little fluctuations
As for the 60W equivalent LED light bulb, its global ASP saw no obvious changes in May but slipped by 1%. Korea led the decline with 9% down to USD 28.3. The major reason was that intensified market competition in addition to the rising exchange rate of South Korean Won resulted in the price downtrend. The UK price slumped 6% due to the price cuts of the existing products as well as new products not appearing in the market for this month. In the USA, ASP went down by 1%, indicating slight changes. Moreover, 60W equivalent LED light bulb price in Japan rose 3.6% as prices of existing products stayed flat and new product prices were relatively high. The newly listed German ASP was quite high, reaching USD 36.7, second only to the UK price.
Perspective from LEDinside
LEDinside points out that global ASP as of May 2012 basically stayed flat. Both 40W and 60W equivalent LED light bulb prices saw little fluctuations. Prices of existing products remained stable or downtrend while increasing new products contributed to the price hike to a certain extent. Due to the balance of the two sides of factors, no obvious price change was observed in general.
LEDinside observes that global LED light bulb ASP has started to curb the downtrend and has been gradually going steady since Feb 2012. Regional price war was basically settled when it came to May. Instead, introduction and promotion of high performance products are heating up. Light bulbs with enhanced performance or new features has been delivered around the world, for example, products with energy-saving boost, dimming ability or wide beam angle design, a feature increasingly emphasized by customers in mature markets like Europe, USA and Japan. Besides, most top-tier manufacturers have highlighted new feature or high performance in their advertising campaigns in order to increase customer awareness and market acceptance.
LEDinside concludes that LED light bulb ASP is not expected to plunge in the short term since LED manufacturers are making great efforts to enhance performance and differentiate specifications. Instead, the ASP will stabilize for some time or undergo little fluctuation. However, in the long term, LED price will continue the downtrend and LED bulb manufacturers will also increase. Therefore, when omni-directional and high efficacy types are gradually popularized, another wave of price competition is expected to start in the end of 2012.
