The scale of the LED lighting market is growing steadily, according to 2016 Global LED Lighting Market Trends Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. LEDinside estimates that the scale of the LED lighting market will reach US$25.7 billion in 2015 and expand to US$30.5 billion in 2016. The penetration rate of LED lighting is also projected to climb from 31% in 2015 to 36% in 2016.

Joanne Wu, LEDinside assistant research manager, stated that sharp price declines have severely impacted the margins of replacement products such as LED light bulbs and light tubes. Consequently, lighting companies begin to shift their focus to professional lighting markets and hope that increases in government spending, especially in new public projects, will create new opportunities. Sectors with tremendous growth potentials include industrial lighting, commercial lighting and architectural lighting.

Prospects are bright for the U.S. and Indian lighting markets as applications diversify.

Lighting companies have focused on professional lighting solutions in developed markets such as the U.S., Europe and Japan. They seek to capture certain market segments via product diversification and differentiation. In the emerging markets, rapid economic growth, favorable government policies, and mega urban projects are constantly generating new opportunities. Wu noted that the main growth centers in the global lighting market next year will be the U.S. and India.

Demand has been relatively strong in the U.S. lighting market this year, with growth residing in applications such as commercial/industrial lighting, horticultural lighting and marine lighting. Major U.S. lighting companies are proactively developing various LED lighting businesses and giving a greater share of their portfolios to LED lighting products. Demand growth for LED lighting products has been strong in the commercial/industrial applications, with the fastest growth found in troffers, panel lights, tunnel lights and high/low bay lights. New applications are also emerging, including smart lighting and light communication.

Another niche application in the U.S. market that is worthy of interest is horticultural lighting. Entrepreneurs and lighting system specialists are banking on the country's bourgeoning legal marijuana trade as more states have changed their drug policies to allow growing marijuana plants for medicinal as well as for recreational purposes (e.g. Washington and Colorado).

Developments in the emerging markets such as India, Africa and Southeast Asia will be heavily influenced by government policies and the volume of project tenders in the market. The Indian government, for example, plans to purchase 200 million LED light bulbs by the end of 2016 and has issued tenders on LED streetlights retrofit projects. To meet bid requirements related to revenue, production capacity and manufacturing capability, international bidders are encouraged to enter joint ventures with local lighting companies. The Indian LED lighting market therefore is expected to remain hot through 2016.