Date Announced: 11 Sep 2009 Wellingborough, UK -- Signs and signals, including outdoor displays, are big business for the LED market. This area is one that continues to be well exploited by LED driver IC manufacturers.According to latest data produced by IMS Research (www.imsresearch.com) the world market for LED driver ICs in signs, signals, outdoor displays and traffic lights reached $110 million in 2008. This was about one seventh of the total market of $777 million. Although the market for LED driver ICs in this area has been affected by the economic situation, there remains a healthy medium term growth outlook.Within the signage segment, large outdoor LED displays are an important business area. IMS Research’s optoelectronics specialist, Jamie Fox, explained that “LEDs from suppliers such as Nichia and Cree are used in large outdoor displays produced by companies such as Aoto, Barco, Daktronics and Lighthouse. These displays are primarily used areas such as sports, concerts and outdoor advertising.”The displays can show good quality full colour images in much larger sizes than can be achieved by other technologies such as LCD and plasma screens. Their size means that many LEDs and LED driver ICs are used in a single display. However, according to Fox, this technology comes at a price. “Such displays typically cost in the range of $50,000 to $1,000,000 or even higher depending on the size and resolution required,” he noted. While the larger portion of the market for LED driver ICs is in backlighting devices, especially mobile handsets, this signage segment represents a strong addition to the market with good growth potential. Leading suppliers of LED driver ICs for signage include Macroblock, Toshiba and Texas Instruments.About IMS ResearchIMS Research is a supplier of market research and consultancy services on a wide range of global electronics markets. The company is supported by headquarters in Wellingborough, UK and offices in Austin, Texas and Shanghai, China. IMS Research publishes detailed research on areas such as LEDs, LED driver ICs and digital signage, as well as many others.
Contact
Jamie Fox, Research Analyst IMS Research Tel: +44 1933 402255
E-mail:[email protected]
Web Site:www.imsresearch.com
