As the world's economy stages a rebound, the global LED industry is expected to ride the wave of an uptrend in demand, in particular for lighting applications.

According to some industry experts , since the beginning of 2013 sales in LED lighting has expanded at a quicker-than-expected pace. As the peak season for the LED industry will arrive in the second quarter of this year, momentum is expected to continue, leaving behind a slow year of 2012, which was partly impacted by the financial turmoil in the eurozone.

LEDinside: global LED industry is expected to rise to US$12.4 billion
According to LEDinside, a research division of market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp., production value of the global LED industry is expected to rise 12 percent from a year earlier to US$12.4 billion (NT$367 billion).

At the end of 2012, Europe imposed a ban on imports of incandescent bulbs, which has boosted demand for LED bulbs in some European countries.

Taiwan has started efforts in replacing incandescent street lights with LED ones. Several local governments have launched biddings for street light replacement, which are expected to give a boost to local LED firms' sales.

Epistar expects volume sales of global LED bulbs to grow sharply to 300 million units in 2013
Taiwan Epistar expects volume sales of global LED bulbs to grow sharply to 300 million units in 2013, up from about 100 million units recorded in 2012. The company said that with production costs on the decline, more affordable LED bulbs are expected to stir up buying interest.

LED lighting will account for 20% of Everlight 's total revenue in 2013
Everlight has embraced high hopes of a strong demand for LED lighting this year, expecting that LED lighting will account for 20 percent of the company's total revenue in 2013, up from about 10 percent recorded a year earlier.

Unity Opto wins orders to supply more than 7 million bulbs
Unity Opto Technology Co., has won orders to supply more than 7 million bulbs worth US$ 1 billion so far this quarter, while LED lighting manufacturer Epileds Technologies, Inc. said its production capacity utilization rate currently stands at 80 percent and is expected to rise to 100 percent later this month.