Lighting orders for LED chip manufacturers are pouring in due to capacity competitions in the LED lighting and optic application markets. Sapphire substrate application has expanded from smartphones to iWatch. International sapphire manufacturers anticipate ingot prices to increase in February, which will allow performance in 1Q14 to be better than last quarter for sapphire material manufacturers.

Taiwan's listed sapphire material manufacturers include Crystalwise Technology and Acme Electronics. Crystalwise has a large portion in LED lighting which is hopeful to benefit from the increase in price lead by international manufacturers. The company plans to increase their LED lighting business substantially this year. Acme subsidiary USI Optronics mainly produces sapphire ingots and will also benefit from the increase in price.
Demand for sapphire material in the LED application market is strong, said He Junxian, General Manager for sapphire substrate manufacturer ProCrystal (via Economics Daily News). There is currently a supply shortage for PSS. March has chance to see an additional increase in price. With the volume of demand for the entire market increasing, sapphire substrate price is anticipated to continue rising. Large international manufacturers such as Rubicon Technology and Monocrystal have increased the price of ingots from US $4 (NT $121) per millimeter up to US $5.5.

Various sapphire material manufacturers specializing in optic application are also benefiting from orders by mobile phone manufacturers. Many mobile phone manufacturers are already producing fingerprint sensors and plan to incorporate sapphire materials into the protective screen for glass. iWatch will also use sapphire materials. Industry insiders believe that each quarter will be better than the last this year.