MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Continuing the trend of recent years, high-brightness LED market growth for 2008 was 11%, reaching $5.1 billion, in spite of a shaky fourth quarter. However, a decline of 3.7% is expected for 2009, resulting in a market size of $4.9 billion. This decline will not affect all HB LED market segments equally. For example, although some of the more mature markets such as automotive lighting, mobile phones, and outdoor video screens are experiencing substantial downturns, other emerging segments such as backlights for LCD displays in notebook computers and TVs are showing strong growth. Moreover, the LED lighting market is also continuing to grow, although at a somewhat slower pace than in recent years. According to market research firm Strategies Unlimited in its recently released report High-Brightness LED Market Review and Forecast – 2009, lighting and LCD backlighting are the applications that will drive market recovery in 2010 and over the next five years, with market growth forecast at a CAGR of 24%, reaching $14.9 billion in 2013.

In all market segments, the penetration rates for the use of HB LEDs continue to grow. The fundamental drivers for HB LED adoption have not changed. It is the impact of the worldwide economic recession on end product demand, rather than any slowdown in the rate of HB LED adoption, that is causing the HB LED market to dip in 2009. As noted above, lighting and LCD backlighting are providing strong counterweights to the decline in other segments, and they have moderated the rate of overall HB LED market contraction.

The new Strategies Unlimited report is the tenth from the company on LED applications and markets. It analyzes the HB LED market in depth, from both the demand side and the supply side, including supplier market shares. Detailed quantitative market analysis is provided, including breakouts by application and product type, in terms of units, ASPs and revenue. Five-year market forecasts are provided for each application and HB LED product type.

High-Brightness LED Market Review and Forecast -- 2009 is available for immediate delivery from Strategies Unlimited for $5,450. More information on the report is available by contacting Tim Carli, Sales Manager, at +1 650 941-3438 ext. 23, or by email at tcarli@strategies-u.com.

Founded in 1979, Strategies Unlimited specializes in market research and strategic consulting directed at the optoelectronics and compound semiconductor industries. It has published reports on LED markets and technology since 1994, and it established the first annual industry conference on HB LEDs, known as Strategies in Light, in 2000. The company, based in Mountain View, California, is a research unit of PennWell Corporation.

PennWell Corporation, founded in 1910, is a highly diversified media and information company providing authoritative publications, conferences and exhibitions, databases, information products and Internet-based services to strategic markets worldwide. The company publishes over 45 periodicals including LEDs Magazine, Laser Focus World, Vision Systems Design, Lightwave, and Solid State Technology. Its headquarters are in Nashua, NH, and Tulsa, OK, with remote offices and partners located around the globe.