PIDA explained that owing to changes in the component industry ecosystem, in 2017 major LED component manufacturers in Taiwan made adjustments to their product portfolios, reducing or eliminating backlights which were facing stiff competition, adjusting the proportion of applications in the domain of lighting, and increasing quad LED, automotive, invisible light, and Mini LED niche products. A few companies have even taken an additional step and extended MOCVD epitaxial technology to VCSEL and GaN HEMT device products.

According to PIDA statistics, during this transitional period, Taiwanese epitaxy wafer grain yields fell by 2% in 2017, reaching NT$33.8 billion. However, overall profits showed significant improvement. In addition ,from the standpoint of epitaxy wafer grain profits, total losses in 2016 amounted to NT$59.4 million, and this was transformed into a surplus of NT$1.82 billion in 2017.

In addition, the output value of LED packaging and modules amounted to NT$78.4 billion, which was a 6% decrease. The total revenue of the top ten LED packaging and module manufacturers shifted from a surplus of NT$650 million to a loss of NT$130 million.

On the other hand, PIDA also pointed out that a combination of factors, such as the “Made in China 2025” upper industry guidance policy of Mainland China, the investment of national resources into LED component manufacturing, the effects of localization replacing imports, and increases in the ratio of LED terminal products, will cause Mainland China’s LED components to become the world’s leading products.

PIDA also emphasized that for Taiwanese LED manufacturers, future development should focus on niche application products and that cross-sector and mixed-industry integration will be necessary to establish a collaborative platform to enhance the efficiency of product development. Furthermore, accelerating the smooth flow from upstream to middle to downstream manufacturing should be a priority for development.

(TR/ Phil Sweeney)