Prices of LED Bulbs Fell in February as a Wave of Economically Priced LED Filament Bulbs Arrived in Europe and the U.S.
The global average sales price (ASP) of 40-watt equivalent LED replacement light bulbs came to US$6.8 this February, down 0.6% from the prior month. As for 60-watt equivalent counterparts, their global ASP in the same month stood at US$8.2, dropping 2.1% from January.
“The releases and promotions of new LED filament light bulbs caused prices to drop noticeably in Europe and the U.S. this February,” said LEDinside analyst Allen Yu. “LED filament light bulbs have the advantage of using less power to achieve the same levels of luminous flux as conventional LED light bulbs. At the same time, LED filament light bulbs are priced much lower on average than conventional LED light bulbs.”
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| The rise of LED filament bulbs squeezes the value of conventional LED light bulbs. |
Rising costs of raw materials have pushed up prices in China’s LED package market
In China’s LED package market, several suppliers have begun to raise their prices for some of their products after the Chinese New Year holidays due to the tight supply of standard LED chips. MLS at the start of the February announced that prices of its lighting LED packages will go up by 15%, causing other suppliers to follow. For February, price hike mainly affected 2835 LEDs, with 0.2-watt and 0.5-watt 2835 LEDs both seeing an increase of 1.2% versus January. Prices of 3030 LEDs and 5630 LEDs by contrast were stable during February.
European vendors focus on developing new LED filament light bulbs that are high in luminous efficacy and economically priced
During this February, 40-watt equivalent LED light bulbs saw sequential monthly price drops of 6.1%, 1.2% and 5% respectively in Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. The declines were mainly attributed to the discount pricing of a few older products and the releases of new low-priced products. Philips put four new products on the market in February. All of them are LED filament light bulbs.
China’s OPPLE Lighting also released two new products in Europe this February as part of the brand’s ongoing efforts to establish itself in the region as well as in the U.S. The promotional prices of these two products were also significantly below the global ASP of 40-watt equivalent LED light bulbs.
On the other hand, promotional activities were ending in Asia during February, causing prices of some products to bounce back. The ASP of 40-watt equivalent LED light bulbs in Japan went up 2.9% compared with January. Furthermore, the ASP of Toshiba’s 4.9-watt 485-lumen LED light bulb also went up again to US$5.82, translating to a huge hike of 24% from the prior month.
ASP of 40-watt equivalent LED light bulbs in China this February fell slightly by 1.7% versus the prior month. Prices were relatively stable in China with a few notable exceptions. For example, a 10-pack 6-watt 500-lumen LED light bulbs from Philips fell 20% compared with the prior month to US$29. In South Korea and Taiwan, there were no significant changes in prices of 40-watt equivalent products.
As for 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs, their ASPs in Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. fell in February, with the monthly declines respectively at 5.2%, 5% and 3.9%. In the U.S., prices of some products were lowered significantly due to promotions. A pack of four 13.5-watt and 800-lumn LED light bulbs from CREE came to US$22.97, translating of a slide of 19% compared with January. Similarly, the combination of promotional activities and low-priced new products also pushed down ASPs of 60-watt products in the U.K. and Germany. Japan saw a 2.4% drop, but prices stayed constant in other parts of Asia.